It’s amazing how quickly things have changed. In a matter of months we went from shaking hands, hugging, and standing close together to social distancing. I for one coveted the concept of happy hour dates as I waited to give birth. Never in a million years did I think I’d still be waiting for that happy hour date almost three months after having Harper.

Instead, I’ve found myself back at work-but still at home-as I continue to watch Harper grow. The bulk of my family and friend visits have happened on various platforms: Zoom, Google Duo and FaceTime. Harper has become accustomed to seeing most of his family members through a screen-our limited interactions with the outside world has been to routine pediatrician visits where both parents are no longer allowed to accompany the child.

With an increase in warmer weather, quiet walks in our neighborhoods have become a welcome change to staying indoors.

This is our new normal.

Aside from limited interactions with others, we find ourselves all holding a collective breath of anticipation. What’s the next big change in our everyday lives? For me-the wealth of information and misinformation has been at times overwhelming. I found myself glued to various news outlets as the news from reputable sources (and non reputable sources) changed by the second. Now more than ever we must take a critical stance as we navigate all the information thrown our way.

Our lives are literally at stake-the wrong information may lead to irreversible damage. Do you remember when there was an assumption that blacks couldn’t get Covid-19? Fast forward to today, we are all aware of the gargantuan impact Covid-19 has had on black and brown communities.

It is also black and brown school children whom are at a sever disadvantage as it relates to the new normal when it comes to distance learning. Our children are more likely to not have internet access-a necessary resource to attend virtual schooling. It is also our community whom are less likely to have the option to work from home.

We are living in a world of mass information-we must continue to remember not all information is accurate and many are holding their opinions, assumptions and out right bias as fact. It’s up to us as consumers of information to not take everything we hear as FACT. It’s dire that we use critical thinking and teach this skill to our children.

Without a well developed critical lens we are doomed as it relates to not only our lives but also all the lives we may come in contact with. Please continue to be safe-practice social distancing; keep your hands clean and away from your face. Maybe in the near future I’ll finally attend happy hour but in the mean time I’ll settle for virtual ones as we attempt to flatten this curve. We got this.