Things I miss

 

At times, it’s the little things I’ve “lost” during COVID, that seem to make a difference.   

I never used to leave the house without makeup on, but if I’m wearing a mask, no one is going to see my face, only my eyes and forehead, so makeup ends up being an eyebrow pencil and perhaps a touch of lipstick, in case I take off my mask to drink something. 

My ears were pierced as a small child.  My mother used to say that little girls would “play” with their jewelry if they could see it, but since we couldn’t see our earrings, we didn’t play with them.  But after losing a few as I took my mask on and off going into stores, getting back in my car, etc.  putting earrings on became something I don’t automatically do any more. 

I miss the normalcy of hugs and handshakes.  Of going to lunch with friends and colleagues. I miss wandering through stores, not because I need something, but because I want to see what’s “new”.  I miss not feeling like I have to constantly watch the people around me to check and see if they are wearing a mask or distancing themselves from me. 

I miss working with clients, colleagues, friends and family in person, rather than by “Zoom” or “Microsoft Teams”, over the phone and by emails and texts. 

I miss favorite stores that have gone out of business and restaurants where I could sit down to eat my meal instead of eating it at my kitchen table. I miss a time when I didn’t have to check the door when I entered a business to see what their masking policy is.  When I didn’t “pull back” when a waiter or clerk approached me with their mask below their nose. 

I miss a time when the news didn’t constantly report on “covid” wars between vaccinated and unvaccinated; pro-science vs pro-economy.   When everyone sought to protect the vulnerable – our elderly, immune compromised and our children, rather than having a cavalier attitude toward their health.  A time when “mask shaming” (on both sides of the aisle) didn’t happen. 

I miss politicians and government leaders who I felt were truly trying to lead and to take care of their constituents, rather than pandering to whomever they felt would give them a donation or a vote. 

I miss the ability to spontaneously decide to go out to dinner, without first checking the restaurants covid protocols. 

I miss being able to cough or sneeze, without everyone around me suddenly staring at me, wondering if I have covid or if it’s just allergies. 

I miss the world I lived in, before covid. 

Dale Weir 8-17-2021 

Photo by Anthony Tran on Unsplash