It's Like I've Been Practising For This Since 2014.

We've been physical distancing now for what must seem like an eternity for some. It's been awful, right?

For the majority of us, it means that we've had little to no face-to-face contact with colleagues or classmates. No riding public transit, no visits with friends. Buying groceries has become an exercise in the paranoia of trying to figure out if the person down the aisle might be infected. Or if the delivery person dropping off at your door might have coughed on your items. But we've adapted! Video chats have (temporarily?) replaced classrooms, meetings, even medical consultations. Shopping at the store has been taken over by online shopping.

I am sympathetic to those that are suffering or have fallen on hard times as a result of the pandemic. We're doing our best to support our neighbours, such as supporting local businesses and making donations to organizations such as the Ottawa Food Bank and our son's not-for-profit daycare. But let me focus on some positives.

For myself, the past several months have been a dream. Not to make light of the situation, but as a TBI sufferer (and introvert) I feel like I've been preparing for this day for the past 5 and a half years! I've missed so many days of work, bailed on so many social engagements, and locked myself in the house away from people for so long that it all seems somewhat normal to me. I'm ok working from my basement with my headphones on, because at the office I had to pretty much isolate myself from workplace distractions anyway to get my work done. Without the seclusion, a loss of focus and the disappearance of productivity was sure to follow. It wasn't a rare occurrence for me to go the whole day without having said a word to my office neighbours other than "Hello" and "See you tomorrow".

Ironically right before pretty much everything closed down, I was ready to open myself up to my friends again. I've visited with only a handful of my close friends since my TBI and only a handful of times at that. This may sound strange, but I was ready to pick up the phone and call two of my closest friends DW and DW to hang out. But then physical distancing. I used to spend hours with these guys and they'd work my brain hard in different ways, so I think subconsciously I've been avoiding them. I think I've seen DW1 two or three times since the dooring - after the birth of our first child and then my one and only try at returning to snowboarding. I've maybe seen DW2 twice? The first was to rent and drive his moving truck and the second, when his mom passed away last year. The celebration of "Mom's" life was completely sensory overload, but I was more than happy to be there for him and his family. These two guys have always bent over backwards for me, even though I've not really been present anywhere since 2014. We text, but it's just not the same.

The time at home has been beneficial. It has allowed me to rest. Despite the cancellation of all my appointments - chiropractic, vision therapy, massage - I haven't felt the burning headaches since we were told to stay home from work. Sure, it's been a challenge figuring out work arrangements while watching our two young kids, but I think we've got the basics down. We alternate work half the day and play with/teach the kids the other half. I am truly lucky in that my workplace has been very accommodating and understanding in this regard.

I've been able to spend so much quality time with my family and being able to watch the kids grow is a treat. Our eldest can be as fast as we are on our bikes and our youngest is super-speedy on his balance bike. P is starting to read in french, while A can probably count higher than many second graders. Nothing makes me happier than being with my family and seeing the joy in their eyes to be spending so much time with Mommy and Daddy.

That being said, I'll be happy when things go back to "normal," whatever the new "normal" might be. But for now, welcome to my post-TBI "new normal." I've been practising for this since 2014.