The World May Be Heading Back To ‘Normal,’ But None Of It Feels Normal At All

“I thought the during was going to be the hardest…the missing and the waiting and the wondering and the worrying.

Turns out, the after might be harder. It’s not all, ‘Let’s just start going to restaurants and sporting events and let our kids hang out and everything is now fine.’

That’s just not working for my heart it seems.

We have been through something, my friends, and it cannot be ignored or swept under the rug or fixed by plopping down at a table at our favorite place to eat or in walking through Target without a mask.

We have lived through so much and we need to take care of our people and ourselves.

If you are still worried about heading out of your house, that’s just perfectly fine.

Or if the things we have been waiting to do don’t even sound good to you.

Or if suddenly now that things are becoming normal, your people who have been troopers this whole time are just struggling.

Know I am right there with you.

It is just A-OK to feel your feelings. All of them. Even the ones you want to run away from, maybe especially those.

It’s OK not to be OK. Try not to expect all the things of yourself. Your heart and head may need time to catch up with what is happening around us.

You may finally be giving yourself permission to feel hurt by things that have happened. You may be coming back to life and finding relationships you thought were there just aren’t anymore. You may feel like a totally different person than when this all began and you need to get to know your new self a bit.

It’s all OK. The world may be heading back to normal (whatever that is), but if none of it feels normal to you, you are not alone. And you do not have to pretend a single thing.

Take your time my friends. One foot in front of the other. Allow for the healing to happen slowly if that’s what’s in store.

And find your joy where you can; you know where it usually hides, so look there first. Be gentle with your soul and with your people. We’ve got this and we only need to take one step at a time.”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Hiding in the Closet with Coffee by Amy Betters-Midtvedt. Follow Amy on Instagram here. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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