I know it’s been a couple of weeks, but yesterday, I finally felt as though I was adjusting to the new normal.

For me, that involves staying on the property a lot of the time, not going anywhere. It’s kind of weird. I hadn’t realized just how often I left the property. But I used to go and do publishing work at the library almost every afternoon. Now, I’m trying to limit myself to leaving once every seven to ten days.

The new normal for me still involves writing in the morning, publishing in the afternoon. A lot more phone calls, reaching out to talk with people, as well as Zoom meetings with family and friends. (Our Tai Chi class is being taught via Zoom too.)

I’m still taking my hourly walks, as dictated by the Tyrant of Movement (i.e., my Fitbit watch.) Reaching 10K steps here without having to go to the gym. I also do Tai Chi and yoga every day.

I’m doing a lot more cooking, as probably everyone is. I’ve been breaking out some of those old cookbooks that I love but rarely use and actually using them. Planning out things to eat for the week, instead of winging it.

Going out to eat has always been a thing for me. When I first arrived in Seattle back in 2005, I was going out to eat all the damned time. Five days a week sometimes. And that wasn’t just dinner, but breakfasts and lunches as well. Eventually, I realized just how much money I was spending on eating out and started cooking.

Then my diet changed, and I switched over to making almost all of my own meals. Still went out once or twice a week.

One of our goals this year was to cut back on that. Now, we’ve cut back even further. I haven’t gone out to eat for three weeks. I’m not sure I can remember the last time I did that. Possibly before 2005. This is a huge change for me (and yes, I realized just how privileged that makes me). We might order carry out this week. Or I might see how long I can go without going out to eat, as a new challenge.

As this is the last Sunday in the month, it’s supposed to be PJs day. However, that doesn’t really work for me anymore. PJs day involved putting on PJs and staying on the property for the day.

Uhmmmm….

I’m going to need to figure out some other routine for taking time off. Not sure what yet. Can’t really take today off, as there’s a bunch of work to do. But I am taking more time off during the regular days. I guess in that I’m still adjusting to a new routine.

But this morning, as well as yesterday, I feel more settled. This is both a good thing as well as a bad thing. Good, because being less antsy about being out here and not going anywhere is going to make my life easier. Bad, because I don’t want to get used to this. I don’t want to develop some level of agoraphobia, where I don’t go out ever.

The world will be different when we get through these times. I think about that sometimes, playing the game of what will be changed, what won’t. Will large restaurants with lots of seating be out of vogue? Will our tastes change to small, wide-spread seating instead? How afraid will people be to travel? How long will that last? All these things while I spin up my own words and worlds.

I hope that everyone is safe and healthy out there. How are you adjusting to the new normal? Still fighting or has it become more of a flow?