About a year ago, I was in the organic grocery store Biocoop when a frail woman passed by wearing a surgical mask. This was well before COVID-19, at a time when seeing someone with a mask at a supermarket was unusual. A young child with his mother spotted the masked woman, pointed, and loudly asked his mom an innocent question, “Why is that woman wearing a mask? It’s scary.” Embarrassed, the mom swatted his hand down, smiled politely at the woman, and calmly explained to the child that the woman was wearing the mask for health reasons and it was nothing to fear.
But wow, how times have changed…
Up until earlier this year, masks were commonplace mainly for doctors and dentists seeing patients and performing surgery, Asian tourists in airports, and immunocompromised people going about their daily lives. Now, it’s the people NOT wearing masks in the supermarket that get the strange looks. Just yesterday, a young girl asked her mom why a man over by the eggs wasn’t wearing a mask and my mind flashed back to the Biocoop child asking the exact opposite just a year ago. I chuckled under my mask.
As of July 20, France has made it a requirement to wear a mask in all indoor public places such as stores, the post office, pharmacies, banks, etc. Certain areas experiencing outbreaks such as the Mayenne, have gone a step further and have made masks a requirement even out on the street as well. Yet large private gatherings such as weddings are still permitted. That doesn’t make sense to me.
As I write this, a second wave is expected in France and cases hit a two-month high this week.
What we view as normal takes so much into account — our culture, our health, our beliefs, the current state of the world, and so much more. What’s normal to me may not be normal to you. But I think we can all agree nothing about the current state of the world is normal although every day that passes makes it seem that way.
If someone plopped me into today out of nowhere with no context, I guess I could believe this reality is normal if I knew nothing else. But we know what life was like before. Watching the pandemic take hold of everyone’s lives little by little over the past couple of months is so far removed from normal that I don’t know whether to scream, cry, or laugh.
Like you, personal travel plans have been put on hold. My parents won’t be coming next month. It’s non-essential and there are far more serious things we’re dealing with than vacation but still. It stings to know that something you were looking forward to has been cancelled with no timeline for rescheduling. So much is up in the air and unknown.
Like you, people close to me have gotten sick. My grandma died and I watched her funeral via a live stream. Luckily, Tom, Dagny, and I have remained healthy.
Like you, I wonder when everything will regain a sense of normalcy. If ever. It has to, right? I worry about the US election. I worry about race relations and how divisive the USA is now. I worry about when I’ll see my family again. I worry about people losing their jobs, their health insurance, and then their homes.
Like you, I just want us all to be able to live again.
What we used to take for granted is now just a memory we’ve tucked away for good keeping. I hope we can dust it off again one day soon. Until then, I’ll be masking up and awaiting a day in the future when a child finds it strange that a woman in a grocery store is wearing a mask and innocently asks his mother why. I look forward to chuckling out of pure joy for all to see.
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How are you holding up? What are you most looking forward to after the coronavirus pandemic?
Want more? Check out this post on how masks affect language comprehension
Sharon Crigger-Stokan says
It was so good to read you feeling in the posting. It echos so much of what I – and I am sure many others – are feeling and experiencing. I am from the US and my doctor said at my last visit that once the vaccine is out (he predicts by October) it will take about 5-6 months (till March or so) until we can stop wearing masks. I truly am praying that he is correct!
On a happier note, thank you for your blog. I so enjoy it and your YouTube videos as well. I am a US citizen, but France has had my heart since I was in junior high (about 60 years). I’ve been blessed with being able to make 4 trips to Paris and other areas in France and would so love for one last trip. Thanks again!
Diane says
You’re so welcome, Sharon! Thank you for reading and hope you get back to France as soon as it’s safe to do so. 🙂
Debbie Connell says
Diane, Loved this, very heartfelt and encompassing the feelings of so many of us. We just have to embrace patience and wait this out and proactively do what we can, what is in our power, to help combat this virus. Every person can make a difference.
Diane says
Thank you, Debbie. I agree…. just have to wait it out and do our best with it all. Hoping for better times ahead!
Aussie Jo says
How times have changed in such a short period of time
Diane says
Yeah, it’s so crazy to think about!
Lily / imperfect idealist says
What a really beautiful piece of reflective writing, Diane. First, I’m so sorry to hear about your grandmother, and I hope your family can find some peace during this difficult time. I also find it interesting how things have changed so much – I also used to find mask-wearing kind of unusual in non-pandemic times, but now it’s so normalized, and I’m glad it’s required in public spaces. I hope things don’t get too out of hand in France and that people have no problem wearing a mask, unlike in the US… Glad to hear you, Tom, and Dagny have stayed healthy!
Diane says
Thanks for reading, Lily, and for your condolences. She passed away in April so we have some distance from it now but the whole situation was really hard. It’s still up in the air because we have no idea when we’ll be able to hold an in-person memorial as a family. Next year sometime? It’s nuts.
Hoping things don’t get too crazy in France either. People are good about wearing their masks and I haven’t seen any non-compliant people really except a few here and there.
Kameela says
Thank you Diane. An 8nteresting post.Condolences to you on your very sad news. Hope that Your family will soon be able to get together to celebrate het life. This pandemic is testing our resilience and the saying that “patience is a virtue ” is so relevant now. I used to wear a mask for my job as a medic and didn’t bat an eyelid .I was able to read my colleagues expression and they mine but I am finding it tricky now. I look at people and they look as though they’re suspicious of me. I know that’s not true but it just shows how much we rely on seeing.one another’s facial expressions to better communicate. You mentioned Mayenne . I live in that département and the media really over reported the few positive cases. The health minister even visited. We tried to book a short break in another département and as soon as we mentioned Mayenne we were told sorry. Others who dared to take a chance and went to a nearby département had their cars damaged. Generally people are compliant and we were observing the rules of mask wearing from the beginning and now almost everyone I encounter is wearing one. Hope that we can continue to keep wearing them for as long as is necessary. We don’t have a choice really