Category: 01 – Precipice – what is ‘normal’?

Before the pandemic, we were a family always on the go. I liked it. I’m more productive when I’m busy. My oldest was in 4 or 5 extracurriculars each week, we had a busy social life, and if we did have a day off, it was filled with getting groceries, doing laundry, cleaning. Rarely, if… Continue reading amy k.

The disruption of my normal in 2020 was probably the best thing that could’ve happened. My normal was my lack of presence in my own life and relationships, of being on a constant hamster wheel, of chasing money and being in debt and doing lots of unsatisfying work. I knew my life needed a big… Continue reading jamila f.

So much has changed in all of our lives since the beginning of the pandemic, and still continues to change. I believe most of us have truly struggled to find a new “normal” that resembles what the old one was, and Shannon’s lyrics are so true: all that came before has died. One of the… Continue reading heather h.

To begin with, my son was hospitalized at the beginning of the pandemic and we couldn’t get inside to see him or know what was happening with him. While that was happening I was trying to teach English as a second language to my 61 intensive students who normally are with me five days a… Continue reading jodi c.

2020 brought a lot of changes for my life. By far the biggest change was our exodus from our beloved town. Things got so far off the hook that we could not live there in comfort any longer. I had lived in WA state since 1990 and in Tacoma for the last 11 years. My… Continue reading becci k.

The job that I had had for 6+ years always had a seasonal slowdown over the Christmas and New Years holidays. We were usually fine again by February when work picked up, but 2020 had other plans. With the Covid-19 shutdowns, by March it was obvious that something was wrong, everyone at my job but… Continue reading landon r.

I had some underlying health issues that made me more susceptible to dying were I to contract the virus. It’s a scary thought to die by having my lungs fill with fluid from scarring or pneumonia, as that was how my father died in intensive care. I had to take special steps to avoid community… Continue reading kevin r.

I’ve never led a ‘normal’ life. Raised in a cult and escaped in 2007; I was hoping to achieve normalcy. Mental/adrenal breakdowns, years of therapy and rehabilitation, three kids and an art degree later, I was almost normal. The youngest child was in kindergarten, I was dancing alone, freely painting at my in-home art studio.… Continue reading erica k.

I had to isolate due to age and not yet being released by my oncologist. It is so lonely. I missed hugs and kisses from my friends and their kids. It was like i became invisible. The isolation and loneliness added to my pandemic depression. I am a very social person, and we all need… Continue reading sheila z.

My husband and I had started dancing in 2019 around March and were having mostly a great time learning swing dancing!! I was busy on my 50th Class Reunion Committee and in September 21st 2019 had a fabulous reunion at the California Museum! New Years Eve came and we had a blast dancing and hanging… Continue reading tam s.