Today is May 5, 2020, which marks the start of the 8th week of the “New Normal”. I took a few days off from work, and I unplugged, so this is just my second blog post in May.
The major headlines are largely comprised of which states are beginning down the road of reopening, and which states are extending the stay at home orders, and the feud among government officials on what the right answer is. At the top of this feud is President Trump, who favors reopening and Dr. Fauci, who is advising that the stay at home orders need to continue. My guess is that Dr. Fauci has never run a small business and been dependent on the income of that small business to pay for his home and to put food on his table. The short of it is that 90% of our government officials simply do not know what the life of a working American entails.
On Friday, Texas began its first phase of reopening. Many business are still shutdown, but restaurants were able to reopen at 25% capacity. Bars are among the businesses that are still closed completely. The interpretation of the guidelines for reopening vary wildly, including what the definition of a bar vs. restaurant is. This is in some ways only generating more frustration.
Restaurant owners are far from out of the woods. Most now owe back rent money, and that money is going to have to be repaid at some point. Most restaurants can not make a profit at 25% capacity, so they are operating in the red. As if all of that is not enough, there is a looming meat shortage, and oddly a labor shortage as people are making more on unemployment than they were when they were working, so they do not want to return to work.
An upside to all of this, my sister’s restaurant reopened on Friday, and she said that every customer was beyond friendly and grateful to be there. Part of this is the absence of the tourists, but I truly believe that people are in a kinder mindset than they were before this all began. I believe this is because they have a new perspective on what it is like to be a small business owner. Yvonne and I went out to dinner on Sunday evening, and it felt so good to sit down, relax and be waited on. I loved seeing everyone smiling.
Now, it is another week of the “New Normal”. Brainy Bird is kicking his school day off with reading a book, and Little Chirp is outside playing basketball before the Texas heat takes the court over for the day. Potatoe is bouncing around the house, begging to be petted. All three cats are snuggled up together enjoying a morning nap. I am knee deep in working having had the last four days off.
Even having lived it, it is hard for me to comprehend that this has gone on for 50 days and counting. I feel like the vast majority of people do not understand the toll that the “New Normal” is taking on our country and what the lasting effects will be. I feel like we are all stuck on a roller coaster going up, all wondering when the nightmare will end.
Prayers for our country to unite and find a way out of this.