You’re allowed to eat lunch and laugh while you wait for news. Waiting doesn’t require you to suffer on schedule.

People invent a rule for themselves, that being appropriately worried means not enjoying anything until the result arrives. Suffering in advance does not improve the outcome, and it does not make you more loyal to whatever is at stake. Your body still needs food and sleep and some lightness, especially now.

Let the ordinary parts of the day stay ordinary. Eat properly, go where you were going to go, let a friend make you laugh without apologising for it. If guilt shows up when you enjoy something, notice it and carry on anyway. Staying steady is part of being able to handle whatever the news turns out to be.