I write this on the day that the USA goes to the polls, after 4 years of having an openly, unapologetically terrible man as the President. I don’t think that the country had been perfect before he took office, but I think removing a leader who gives validation to the very things that hold back humanity would be good.
Also about to go back into at least a month-long lockdown in England. After that brief window back in September when we had summer holidays and school started, for a second I actually thought to myself “Have we made it through the worst of it after all? Everything seems more manageable…”.
I am now hearing of more cases in our immediate community, whereas before the incidences seemed remote and unreal. The Government either can’t make up it’s mind or then it’s trying to do the impossible task of balancing the economy and the well being of the nation against the collapse of our health system and rising infections.
I am still working from home, and I really like it. I imagine at some point it will become tedious but honestly: commuting was always a drag. As long as schools continue, it’s completely manageable for IT workers.
Reading the news and opinion pieces is depressing, and you start to panic and wonder whether the world is really being taken over by far right fascists and people that sort of want to watch the world burn from their mansions of gold. Hard to say, but I’d rather focus on science and learning and creativity.
Overall I recognise that I am lucky that I have work, that I can do that work from home, and that I am not lonely. Many people cannot say the same, and that is terrible. I hope the world can keep recognising that you have to play by different rules until we can keep COVID-19 manageable, and that we’ve learnt from our mistakes. Normal economics and systems of debt etc just don’t make sense when we’ve all been crippled by it (apart from certain businesses of course).
Still, 8 months ago the world was pre-covid (despite all the warnings nobody listened to about how unready we are for the next pandemic). Things can just suddenly change, and the world is different, an there’s not much you can do except to try to accept it and make the best of things.
At the same time I have to stop sometimes and take it all in. Yes, you can work from home. Only a few years ago people would kick up a huge fuss if I tried to work from home one day a week. We have families and things to take care of – and they cannot be hidden away like an embarassing fact from your bosses and work colleagues and clients. I like seeing more of my family. I like being here for breakfast, school pickups and dropoffs and dinner. I still get the work done.
It’s like a huge wave, that I don’t really have any control of, but I’m lucky enough to have a surboard that I can ride on top of it, and even appreciate a few new things about daily life.