I wonder if I'll feel naked for the first few days?
The weekend lifting of the state of Michigan's mask mandate for vaccinated people is a welcome step in the return to normalcy from the past year of wackiness. Setting aside the problem of not knowing which mask-less people have been vaccinated and which haven't and are just bending the rules because they can, it'll be nice to see smiles again.
And it'll be even nicer not to have to search your pockets to make sure you have your mask with you before going somewhere.
Still...it's been over a year that we've been wearing masks, and in that time we've gotten used to them. I continued to wear one when I went to a couple of stores on Saturday (out of habit and out of concern and respect for people who haven't yet been vaccinated) but I'm thinking that that won't be happening a lot in the future. The first time I go into a room or a store with other mask-less people, will I welcome the liberation of it all, or will I feel like I forgotten to put on my pants? As humans, we adapt to new things quickly, and they become part of our routine. Like you, I've become used to wearing a mask in public.
Now do I have to become used to not wearing one?
If I do (and knowing me, it will seem strange for a bit), I wonder if it'll take as long as it did for me to become used to wearing a mask. I'm hoping not, if only because almost all of my life I didn't wear one. It's the default way we've lived. So hopefully within a day or two being without a mask will seem normal. However, we've worn them the past year to (literally) save our lives. Has that rewired our brains so quickly that masks have become our new normal? I don't think so and I certainly don't hope so.
However, the human brain is a funny thing. We shall have to see.
Hopefully (and as long as you're vaccinated) you won't have a problem returning to normal. But if it does seem strange for the first couple of days, don't worry.
You won't be the only one with that problem.
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