Corona is dominating our everyday life again more and more. And the thoughts. Our author barely knows where her head is at the moment. And every day you have to make the right decisions. A real challenge in her opinion.
The second wave is here. It took a few days for me to understand that. Or: my head understood that very quickly, but it took a while until I really changed my everyday routines. In the meantime I had already caught myself not singing "Happy Birthday" twice when I wash my hands and when I was on the go, I just thought: Oh, what the heck – it's okay!
In the last few months one had got used to seeing more people again and it seemed as if Corona was still there, but no longer threatening. Until now. Now everything starts all over again and I am facing the problem that I am trapped in a real double standard trap. What do I mean by that? Point 1: The precautionary measures I took in March must be taken now, right? Why did I want to avoid contact with certain people in March, but have now? Why did I always want to have the disinfectant ready in March, but now leave it at home? Why wasn't it okay to hug your sister in March, but now just because it's her birthday? What's the point?
And then point 2: with whom is it okay to see him, but with whom it is not? Example: If I don't visit the friend with the daycare child because the contact chain is too long for me – can I see the friend who in turn sees this friend? Isn't that all the same anyway? In other words: Either really isolate at home or nothing helps? Is it okay to sit close to each other with your close friend just because you know each other, but at the same time to be meticulous in the subway not to share the four-seater seat with someone else? Isn't that all totally illogical?
It just seems to me that the thoughts in my head are playing polo. Everything goes back and forth and back and forth and in the end I'm always afraid of making a wrong decision. I don't want to have to say to myself at some point: If you had done this or that differently – it was totally inconsistent anyway! Even though you knew it was wrong, you did it.
In all honesty: In these times you can probably not get rid of double standards. What you decide in one week, you may decide differently in the other. It probably helps to realize that you are not a decision-making machine and that you certainly cannot always do everything right. When it's your sister's birthday, you hug her faster than your colleague in the office – even though she's exactly the same risk of infection. You don't have to mentally scourge yourself for days if you act against all reason.
What is clear, however, is that we will not get rid of the virus if we do not practice consistently over and over again. And when you're having a hard time making the right decisions, you probably need to establish clear rules. For example: I only see friends outdoors because I can't keep the safe distance at home anyway. And that applies to the best friend as well as to the good acquaintance. And it is also clear: Just because something is allowed doesn't mean you have to exhaust it. Do I really have to go shopping for clothes just because I can? Or throw a party with 10 people when the rules have been relaxed?
Yes, Corona is currently pushing us all to our limits. You have to redefine your own now. And who knows, if you really pay attention to it for a long time, it might save us from a third wave …