May 11, 2022

Will We Ever Get Back to Normal?

When will things go “back to normal"? Is that even a question we should be asking ourselves anymore? How do we learn to live with a new normal? Amy and Margaret ponder over how to keep running a race where the finish line keeps moving.

As Margaret and Amy both deal with Covid in their households, they wonder how they ever thought it was over and when the "new normal" will feel truly normal, if ever. They give both optimistic and realistic assessments of the future as they try to imagine one that's forever changed, but also better than before.

And they both agree that you should cheer on everyone who is running the New York City Marathon, whether they're your sister, a cop, or a ballerina.

In this episode, Amy and Margaret discuss:

  • Moments they each thought "Covid was ovah"
  • The third quarter phenomenon
  • Mourning things they've missed due to Covid


Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

Brandon Ambrosino for BBC: "Why it will be so hard to return to ‘normal’"

Dan Sinker for Esquire: "If We're Back to 'Normal,' Why Am I Still So Exhausted All the Time?"

Debra Caplan's thread on Twitter

Kate Bowler's book No Cure for Being Human, Margaret's rec

Nathan Smith and Gro Mjeldheim Sandal: "The third-quarter phenomenon: the psychology of time in space"

"When Can We Start Saying Yes?" WFH episode where we talk about said phenomenon


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