Governments are finally starting to unveil their roadmaps for easing the lockdown: great news! For me this is a good time to stop and think about all the sensations I’m going to be able to rediscover, some of them less pleasant than others, but, when all’s said and done, there’s nothing I want more than to start on the path towards the new normal, even if it’s going take a few months to get there.

I’ll rediscover the joys of listening to my favourite music in the car while inching my way through the city centre or across the border. Once I reach CERN, I’ll be embarrassed by the stern looks of the security guard while I fumble for the badge that’s buried, long forgotten, at the bottom of my briefcase. Or, on the days when I come to work by public transport, I’ll enjoy the penetrating aftershave of the man on my right and the buzz of music coming from the headphones of the woman on my left.

In the office, I’ll finally get to see my colleagues again with all their little habits, mannerisms and small talk, which used to get on my nerves so much before! Setting off for the meeting at the last minute, as always, I’ll have a good excuse for arriving late, having driven around the car park umpteen times looking for one of the free spaces that are so hard to come by. And how could I have forgotten the existential discussion that finally leads to a hard-won consensus on whether to open or close the window or raise or lower the blinds of the meeting room.

Ah, but can it really be lunchtime already, time to relax? A few months from now, I’ll learn again to rush to the canteen to make sure I get there before the hordes of visitors arrive. I’ll get used to having to jostle with strangers in order to grab a tray and cutlery, to shuffling along the line for a hot meal or a bread roll and then waiting in a long queue to get to the cash desk I can just about see in the distance. I’ll go up and down the seating area five times to find a free table and cry victory when I do so. I’ll be overjoyed to catch up with my colleagues amid the babble of different languages that forces me to raise my voice to make myself heard. No matter that my meal has gone cold, there are only 15 people in the queue for the microwave!

In times of normality, we humans tend to moan about all the little irritations of daily life. The end of lockdown that we’ve been awaiting for so long will remind us, slowly but surely, that they are a small price to pay for the chance to work, and in a highly stimulating environment into the bargain.

Let’s not forget this when we’re back to the “new” normal.

Pierre Gildemyn

If you’d like to comment on any of my articles or suggest a topic that I could write about, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me at Ombuds@cern.ch.