We got a call from my daughter a few weeks ago. “The baby is here! It’s a blessing!” And just like that, I became a grandpa.

The day Sarah and I – and our whole family – had been waiting for had arrived. We helped our daughter and son-in-law bring young Hayden home from the hospital. It’s a pretty remarkable story. And my daughter was right. Hayden is a tremendous blessing considering everything that’s happening in our world.

Hayden brings our whole family joy. But unfortunately – due to the pandemic – not everyone in our family has met her or shared in the personal moments with this newborn. In many ways, my daughter and her new family must go it alone. We navigate with facial masks, physical distancing and extended Zoom calls. It’s a sad but true reality of the world today.

We got another call that same week – it was a day we had dreaded. My middle son told us his new wife’s mother, Karen, had passed away. Her eight-month battle with pancreatic cancer was over. We’d moved their wedding day up last summer – unsure how long Karen would be with us. My son said, “Dad, it’s really sad, but really a blessing.”

There was no funeral. No trip to Iowa to hug and comfort them and shed tears together. Again, there were long Zoom calls, but… these two blessings came in different forms in the same week. One very happy and joyous, the other – very sad.

I know some of our agency owners and employees have had babies recently, too. Some have gotten married. Others are preparing for high school and college graduations. Celebrating birthdays. Marking anniversaries. And yes, mourning the loss of friends and family.

Life keeps moving in a pandemic. Each of us has our own version of what COVID-19 has provided – and taken away. This is the new normal that’s more personal. It’s mixed in with all the changes affecting our work, our customers and our communities.

It’s an ongoing see-saw, really, that will likely continue. We can’t expect things to return to what they were, much less expect things to be normal. 

This juxtaposition we’re facing is a terrific reminder about what’s important in life. Yes, we’re reimagining normal in a chaotic world, but we still need normalcy. We can still marvel at the blessings we have, even if we can’t marvel at them exactly like before.

Maybe you couldn’t physically be with your mom yesterday for Mother’s Day – so you shared a FaceTime call with her or had a family Zoom gathering. Or your high school senior is about to graduate – virtually – so you’re cheering his or her accomplishments on social media. Or perhaps a long-time team member is about to mark a milestone anniversary – so your team is planning a virtual happy hour to celebrate.

We should still celebrate!

Cheer. Smile. Laugh. Be amazed. Yes, cry and mourn, too. I’ve done all these things – just differently now. But I’ve still done them, and I know many of you have, too.

We must keep our perspective on what’s important. I know I’m celebrating my new role as a grandpa – just differently than I might have thought possible a few months ago. No, we can’t do the things that bring us joy exactly like we did before. But we can try to find ways to still do them.

We can – and should – try to find normalcy amidst our new normal.