The great unmasked..
What an incredible day and one that took such a long time to arrive!
From the moment I heard the announcement about some of the final Covid restrictions being lifted and in particular the end of the requirement to wear masks in indoor settings I was counting down the days and here it is.
It’s a pity it didn’t happen on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday even, so you could really enjoy it, but even so it is here and it really does mark some sort of an end to a horrible time, but one that has changed how we live (and work) forever.
While I did think I would make the most of the momentous day by shopping without a mask or going for a drink after work without a mask, the best I could manage was going to mass this morning (it’s a very rare occurrence for me) – mum had a mass said for Dee’s brother who very sadly passed recently.
It’s clear that the transition to normal will take a while and mass today was a reflection of that with half the very small congregation still opting for mask wearing including the priest and my mum!
Ironically as we left the church mum bumped into a pal of hers who was expressing pure joy about the end of mask wearing and being able to see real faces again – in her enthusiasm she said all of this to my mother who was still wearing her mask as we stood outside the church door!
I must admit that I found mask wearing really difficult and oppressive and I hated to see people wearing them outdoors – for me it was bad enough what we were going through without being reminded of it every time you had to pass someone wearing one.
Of course, social media had a field day with this topic and it was guaranteed to spark a frenzy at the slightest mention of it…..yep, I did and it wasn’t pretty!! (someone accused me of being me a Trump fan – clearly they don’t know me).
Reflecting back at this time, it has been very difficult for almost everyone and we all dealt with it in very different ways, often due to our personal circumstances and at other times down to our outlook, anything from extreme fear to “I don’t give a toss about anyone else“….it’s been challenging to say the least!
So as we do hopefully close this unusual chapter of our collective histories, let us be patient and conscious of others as we decompress and readjust and get back to something resembling normal and something that we are comfortable with, but all at our own speed.
When people are ready to let us see their smiles again, be ready to smile back.
Before I close off on this blog post?(I’m writing this to diary my own feelings as I know I will in time forget what it was like) I’d like to sincerely thank anyone and everyone who had the misfortune of having to wear a mask all day long in work or in school – it can’t have been easy.
Compared to them I had it incredibly easy.
Goodbye mask..