Are you sick of hearing about the quarantine? How about “silver linings” uptalk?
Me, too. I want to get on with life—my old life. Before March of 2020, I had a reasonable social life and a busy career that paid the rent; since then, those things have mostly disappeared. COVID and world politics have crushed many businesses, with collateral damage to many industries, including consultants like me.
But onward, my friends.
Slogging through 2020’s mud
Like many people, my working life has slowed. And also like many, I have children whose education will be less than it should have been. They need more support from me and my spouse (which reduces our income-earning time), but we don’t know enough about the subjects they’re learning, AND we’re not good teachers. It’s hugely frustrating for everyone, and it’s scary to think about how this will impact the kids’ future and our own retirement. No silver linings here.
The thing is, I’ve now realized how narrow my vision of our futures would be. I wanted the kids to do well academically, get good jobs, have families, and do more-or-less what my spouse and I and previous generations did. Based on the pre-pandemic landscape, I expected some generational changes but planned for my kids to progress towards their cool 21st-century lives at somewhat predictable rates.
The landscape has now changed. The Pandemic is forcing massive, crazy-fast change on all of us. To stay sane, I need to adjust.
Reimagining, repurposing, reinventing
Since March 2020, my kids’ lives have become something that, prior to it, had only existed for me in apocalyptic fiction. They’re not thrilled about virtual school and the isolation, but I’m watching them adjust, and I know they’ll incorporate those changes into their long-term outlook.
This will require patience from those of us who thought we knew what was what in the Before Times. It may now take an average-smart kid or even a super-smart kid an extra year to finish a high school or post-secondary program, or they simply might not finish it. It may also take longer to find the right job or even any job, and our kids will probably be at home longer. But as long as they’re healthy they will be able to innovate, learn and create. That ability to shift is key.
Same thing for their parents. Some industries have been shattered, and decades-long careers have gone with them. Some of us will refuse to give up on the things we’ve built and may yet be able to hold on to them. But for many, we’ll need to change our expectations for ourselves. The brutal, insensitive British ad campaign “Fatima’s next job” is the wrong way to approach this, but the economics of 2020 aren’t going to change quickly, and we need to be open to change. For example, some theatres are using video conferencing tools to stream recorded productions, even partnering with restaurants to create special take-out “dinner and a show” experiences. This is not a long-term solution for actors, theatres or restaurants, but it’s better than sitting on our hands.
My own innovations are happening. I might tell you about them, but in the meantime, try to be patient while exploring your creativity. Also, wear a mask, wash your hands and get a flu shot.