My job being open again for over two months now, there are a lot of new routines that were implemented in response to COVID-19 that have genuinely become normal. What once was a very annoying task is now done without even thinking about it. There's a phrase that I've found that, depending on a person's opinion on everything going on with the global pandemic, will either hate or agree with, and that's: "the new normal".

brown and black round happy st patricks day round decor Photo by DICSON on Unsplash

I've personally become a person that has learned to embrace that phrase. Staying six feet (and more) around everybody I speak to throughout the day, wiping down counters after each person that touches it, and the constant hand washing and sanitization of my hands is something that has become natural day by day. Working nine hour shifts in a face mask doesn't bother me like it used to and I no longer feel the need to visit the bathroom just to get a deep maskless breath.

My coworkers seem to agree with me. The things that we are doing now to keep ourselves and everybody who visits my job safe aren't truly a big deal. Definitely a good portion of it might even just stick after the pandemic is over after analyzing how unsanitary some things used to be.

Customers who come to visit ask all the time how I could breathe in my mask all day and my response is always the same: you will get used to it. Every day when I leave my house, grabbing my phone, keys, wallet, and AirPods have now become grabbing my phone, keys, wallet, AirPods, pocket hand sanitizer, and face mask. I even joke around with a lot of people that forgetting your mask is like when a superhero forgets their mask.

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Jokes aside though, it really is like that. Wearing a mask means that you care about more than just yourself. Wearing a mask means that you want to protect others from whatever it is that you yourself could be carrying. That's what superheroes do: they protect others. Whenever I use this analogy to little kids in the store who hate to wear their mask, this makes their face light up. Kids aren't used to wearing masks either but eventually, they'll get used to it.

The things that used to be essential to my fun and entertainment like going out to restaurants, hanging with my friends, and visiting theme parks are all on pause right now. Despite how much joy I get out of it, I have accepted and understand that it'll all be waiting for me when things are a lot safer. Takeout hits just the same as eating in a restaurant (and you can eat in your PJs while watching TV), my friends are just a click away on my phone, and other forms of entertainment can be found by picking up new hobbies. I - well nobody, really - am not sure when things will go back to how they used to be, but I have embraced finding happiness in my new normal.

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