Pandemic Life

I feel like Halloween came early this year.  Masks, face shields and gloves, all made for a surreal first day back to work after working at home for five months due to the pandemic.  Add to that: check in points, mobile device apps to monitor symptoms, and campus passes to allow for movement around the institution grounds, and signs in rooms and halls, on walls and floors, and hospital shuttles too, reminding hospital staff, patients and visitors to do the right thing. It was a lot to take in.

Those familiar, friendly faces I longed to see were covered with masks. It left me feeling a little sad because I appreciate faces, especially those with a smile. Our faces are the most powerful channel of nonverbal communication. They help us understand what others are feeling.

The way we live and work will never be the same after the coronavirus pandemic.  How long will it take to forget this pandemic and go back to our previous habits?  Who knows!  This crisis will not last for decades, but some of its effects will.

What lessons will we learn? I hope in earnest we value each other more. Slowing down is a wise thing to do, too.  In other words, stop to smell the roses. I plan on doing that more than I normally do.  Do the same, dear friends. Do the same. – paerki

(Additional Photos: Work Life)