The ‘new normal’

Is it just me, or does the phrase ‘new normal’ give you the creeps?

Whilst I would love to return to a state of stability and ‘normalcy’, I do not want us to return to ‘normal’. Even worse is the talk of returning to a ‘new’ normal.

Normal (noun) is defined as “a form or state regarded as the norm” (Merriam Webster). Not very helpful really, defining a word and using it as part of the definition? My current ‘normal’, as I’m sure it is for many of you, is that I feel uncertainty and instability as an accepted, but not liked, element of my work and home life. It’s not for want of trying to bring stability and composure to both, it’s just how we’re living at the moment.

How can you return to something if it’s new? Surely, by definition of it being new it’s not something that has been around or in your life long enough for it be ‘comfortable’ or ‘stable’ to be classed as ‘normal’?