So last weekend, I started coughing. Normally, I wouldn’t be worried.

I’m allergic to some pollen, and as I’d been sleeping with the windows open, and there was a fine film of yellow over everything in the room. I felt fine. I believed nothing much was wrong with me. Well, three days later, still coughing, now feverish, I had to go down to the triage center where the doctor in hazmat checked me out, and tested me for a few things (Not COVID—there were not enough tests). This was last Monday. That evening I got my results. It was the flu. So I’ve been home recovering ever since.

I’ve been writing, reading, revising—all at a fairly normal pace for me. I’m home most of the time, so hours behind a laptop or working in my fantasy worlds is my usual work. My children are homeschooled, and have been since they were in kindergarten. They are sixteen now. They know the drill. We’ve not had school this week because I was sick, but they’ve amused themselves by writing, reading books, watching documentaries, and working outside, getting the garden ready for this year’s pumpkins and watermelons. In short, everything is perfectly normal.

Except it’s not. Nothing about this is normal.

Some people have been posting their goals of being more productive writing as they are spending more time at home. That may be you. It may not be. We all must find our own ways to adjust.

Give yourself grace. Remember this isn’t normal. We shouldn’t expect to feel normal, act normal, or accept a new normal any time soon. We all need to take the time we need to find our best mental space where we can be productive and creative.