“Normal” seems to change daily these days. I feel like these adjustments and moving with the motion during the adjustment period is an old hat as a mother of four. But this is different, too. In many ways, I feel myself grasping for any and all strengths to help us through these times. The familiar phase of adjusting to a new normal after being (re-) born as a mother with a newborn baby parallels many of the feelings we are all feeling now in these constantly changing and uncertain coronavirus times.

It’s been about 21 days now since my ʻohana and I have been staying home, with the exception of going out for only essentials. Between my husband and I, I have been out even less because my husband has been doing the majority of the grocery runs or errands.

I feel like there’s so much I want to say, but also a whole lot of nothing. I want to go fast and slow at the same time.

On a day-to-day basis, the current normal requires me to be my best self in ways that I have been practicing as a new mother for a few years now. This doesn’t mean that I’ve mastered it, but this feels familiar at least. Being my best self involves discipline, but also forgiveness. And more and more I am seeing how we can only take it one day at a time. Some days I feel more productive than others. Other days all (as if that’s not enough) we do is be with one another. I still feel societal pressure as if we’re supposed to be producing, working, and operating at the same levels we were although we dealing with a pandemic.

While I don’t think we should expect ourselves to maintain the same levels of productivity when we were not experiencing this pandemic, I do think that we should take this time to dive deep and explore what it means to be our best selves — as individuals and as a community.

What if we were to truly focus on taking care of ourselves? What if we planned work around our self-care schedule (instead of trying to squeeze in self-care around our work schedules)? Doesn’t this crisis warrant some deep reflection and planning to how we will live a better life that is healthier for us as individuals, for our ʻohana, for our ʻāina?

I am comforted and also empowered in reading articles about how we are collectively grieving the lives we once had. Especially in these times, it is comforting to know that I am not alone–in many different contexts.

I feel uplifted after having attended a webinar this past week to see this time as an opportunity and that we are not going back to normal. Instead, this is the revolution that we’ve been waiting for. Now is the time to move forward with achieving the lives we’ve dreamed of.

It’s been difficult for me to identify goals or plan in these changing times. But thinking about what I wanted to accomplish or what “normal” I want to return to after all of this is easier for me to think about.

What do you want to be part of our new “normal”?