I wrote last week about how I was nervous about going out and doing things now that things have reopened and masks were no longer required for people who are vaccinated. I would probably feel differently if I knew that the people without masks were really people who were vaccinated, but since they aren’t currently requiring proof I can’t know that for sure. I do know that a lot of people in LA have been vaccinated and we are having lower case rates than many places around the country. But there are still cases every day and it is slightly increasing right now. This is nothing like the surges in the past and I don’t know if the new cases could be all unvaccinated people. So I have to continue to believe that things really are getting better, even if they aren’t completely better yet.
I wasn’t sure how soon I’d be going out and doing errands and other things now that things are reopened. I really thought it might take a week or so to feel ok. But it turns out that it happened over the weekend when I had a few things to do on Sunday.
First, I got my hair done on Sunday. This isn’t the first time I’ve had my hair done since the shutdown nor is it the first time I was in a hair salon since. I went to my friend Erin’s salon toward the end of last year to have her do my hair. When I went then, we both knew that we had to be careful. We were both in KN95 masks and there weren’t any other people in the salon. But besides that time, I either dyed my hair at home or I went to Erin’s house to have her do it. And originally, I thought I was going to go to her house to have my hair done, but she’s at a new salon now and wasn’t able to have me come to her place. But we picked a day and time when there weren’t a lot of other people with appointments.
It is weird to figure out if it’s ok to not wear a mask or not. I know that I am pretty safe since I am vaccinated, but I also don’t want to make a dumb decision. But with Erin, we are at Orangetheory together without masks, so I wasn’t as worried about being around her. I did keep my mask on for some of my appointment and had it off for other parts of it. I will say, being without a mask in public does seem really odd to me. It’s weird how quickly this has become a part of what feels normal, especially when it did take me some time to be comfortable with it.
I’m glad I got my hair done and I’m glad I’m back to a somewhat regular routine with it. I haven’t started back with other parts of my beauty and self-care routine that I don’t do at home, but I know that will come eventually. I think getting used to things one at a time is going to be key for me and my anxiety.
Since I was already out and about, I decided to go to the grocery store too. I know that I can still get groceries delivered and I do plan on continuing that for a while for some things, but I’m trying to get back to being not as isolated all the time. Plus, I wanted to go to Trader Joe’s and I can’t get things delivered from there (and some things are only found at Trader Joe’s). I knew that whatever the policy was there, I was going to wear my mask. The store isn’t that big and people can be close together. And for me, it was important to feel ok with being there and that required wearing a mask.
There was a sign in front saying their policy was that vaccinated people had the option to be without a mask but if you were unvaccinated you were required to wear one. And just like everywhere else, this was on the honor policy. But I will say almost everyone inside was wearing a mask. It was pretty crowded since I was there on a Sunday afternoon, and I think I only saw 3 or 4 people without masks. Nobody was making wearing a mask a big deal and it seemed like we all knew that it was just as normal of a thing to do as wearing shoes. Seeing that a majority of the people there were wearing masks made me feel much better about going out for groceries and not letting my anxiety or fear stop me and only use delivery services.
It will really be baby steps back to my normal life unless a miracle happens and there are no more cases anywhere. I don’t think that will happen and it will hopefully slowly be getting better until things are like they used to be. And if there are better treatment options for COVID so getting it would be more like getting a cold or the regular flu, then that will help too. But knowing how dangerous it can be and how bad the long-term symptoms can affect someone makes me feel like I have to be careful to stay safe.
But I’m glad that I didn’t continue to let fear or anxiety stop me and I started to rejoin the world again. It’s been a long 15 months and I am ready to see what else in my old life I can regain and enjoy again.
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