Lowering Our Masks

Jan Wade

We just might ALMOST be there—back to a place where we don’t wear masks, where we can hug someone, go freely about out lives without the planning necessary during a pandemic. There is something that we might not realize yet, and it is this: WE are now the unwilling participants, the survivors, the Storytellers. We will tell and retell our experiences to people too young to remember and those not yet born. They will want to know a lot of things. They will want to ask us many questions. Some of those questions might be painful, but they will expect us to answer honestly and not mind that the questions are too direct. Some of us will make these stories entertaining. As more time passes for us, we might make some of our stories funny and make our audience laugh. It is important that we tell this big story we all shared and the uniqueness that was our individual experience. WE have to tell this story because it is unbelievable yet true and we are the only ones that can.

What will you do with your masks when we can really never wear them again?

We are going to burn them in our outside fire pit and roast marshmallows with the flames. - Aimee S.

I don't think I'll ever truly get rid of my mask. I will likely wear it in indoor public spaces for a while where unmasked people go. Also, I plan on wearing my mask when I need to go out of my house but don't feel 100% for the near future. - Ruth S. My masks are flannel and they are SO soft. I was thinking about making slippers, a bra, maybe doubling them up and making potholders…the possibilities are endless.

- Jan W.

I think it will be hard to know the moment when I can fully put the masks away (and my kids have been so healthy the past year, I seriously wonder if we should wear them every winter!). I still fear that the whole thing is not coming to an end. I will probably keep them for a while just in case.

- Nicole D.

I’m going to keep wearing masks when I think they’re helpful. Last weekend my friend’s toddler had a nasty head cold so I wore a mask while inside around them and never got sick. In “before” times it was not uncommon for me to get a cold after flying/being in airports. I think moving forward, I’ll likely wear masks when flying. I think I’ll also wear one if I do get sick, to limit spread to anybody else.

- Christine B.

Where is the first INSIDE public place you went without your mask?

We haven’t been anywhere yet w/o a mask. - Aimee S.

My mother-in-law's house. It was weird! - Ruth S.

I have not gone to an inside public place without a mask yet, and honestly it’s hard to imagine. I will probably be wearing mine for a while. I am incredibly relieved to be able to go trail running and jogging without a mask! - Nicole D.

I still haven’t gone to a public place inside without a mask.

- Christine B.

A carpet store. I asked if masks were mandatory and they said no. Then the one guy that helped me said he had not been vaccinated—so back on went the mask!! I had my unmasked moment for about 10 seconds

- Jan W.

masks not required if vaccinated

When you retell the story of the pandemic, what will you say was the silver lining for you?

The amazing time we had as a family being together. We traveled in our RV, played games, had nerf gun battles in the backyard, walked around the neighborhood A LOT, put together dozens of puzzles, adopted a puppy and adopted our daughter. Oddly enough, we saw more of our extended family because of the Sunday Zoom calls with family.

- Aimee S.

The silver lining was getting to spend more time as a family with my husband and two daughters - Ruth S.

Last spring when I was on furlough I spent so much time outdoors—with my kids on little hikes and in our backyard and in my vegetable garden. I grew a killer garden in 2020! At work, the silver lining has definitely been the opportunity for very big creativity—new solutions, new collaborations, and new ideas to figure out how to go forward.

Silver linings—because of the pandemic, I ended up moving out of an apartment in Boulder to a rural mountain valley outside of Lyons. If it hadn’t been for the pandemic, I likely wouldn’t have ended up living out there. I am so, so grateful for the peace and quiet and beauty of my months there. I also starting video calls with friends and family more regularly, which was wonderful.

- Christine B.

Time!! My husband and I spent a lot of wonderful time together. I also got to learn what a difference I can make in someone’s life that is under so much stress and experiencing sadness. And I learned to do it on the phone in the remote call center.

- Jan W.

When you retell the story of the pandemic, what will you say was the hardest part for you?

Not being able to see my parents. They are older and my mom’s health isn’t great so we all kept our distance until we were vaccinated. - Aimee S.

The hardest part was not being able to see my elderly parents who live on the east coast and not be able to hold/squeeze/love my new nephew, who will be 10 months old when I finally get to see him. The hardest part for me was the uncertainty. With two young kids, there was so much uncertainty about when and if they would go to school, not to mention pondering the seriousness of a runny nose. Things just kept shifting and changing and on any given week I just wondered if we would make it through without a problem. Last spring there was also great uncertainty for me at work as I wondered if/when I would be called back from furlough. - Nicole D.

Loneliness, distance from my friends and family (I had moved to Colorado from South Carolina 3 weeks before everything shut down and hadn’t made a single friend), navigating living with my boyfriend in a 200 square foot RV for 9 months!��

- Christine B.

Figuring out how to do almost everything without leaving my home. It was hard to find ways to keep in touch with kids and grandkids, too. I missed the freedom of just going somewhere.

- Jan W.

Who will be the first person not in your immediate family you will hug as soon as you feel it is safe to do so? Have you already hugged that someone?

My parents and we HAVE hugged.��

- Aimee S.

Yes! I hugged my dear friend, also my neighbor, as soon as I could.

- Ruth S.

I will hug my mom and dad in a couple of weeks when they come to visit for the first time since the pandemic started. They live over near Aspen, and I have only seen them a couple of very brief times during the past year and a half. - Nicole D.

My best friend in South Carolina! I got to hug her a few weeks ago when I visited.

- Christine B.

I DID hug someone—my friend Amber when she came from Georgia to take care of her farm here in Erie. We were both vaccinated but we still held our breath! Funny!

- Jan W. What lesson(s) did COVID teach you?

We can get through anything. I saw a sign in someone’s yard early in the pandemic that said “This too shall pass. " It became our mantra. - Aimee S.

The lesson I learned from all of this is that I am more resilient than I think I am. We'll see how things go for me after all of this settles.

- Ruth S.

COVID for me has been a constant lesson in flexibility and taking things as they come. While I can’t say I’ve actually learned the lessons, I keep trying.

- Nicole D.

So many personal and larger lessons—a few are: slow down, pay attention, find out the friends that matter the most, taking precautions is worth it for the common good.

- Christine B.

I learned that people are the most important part of my life...and cows aren’t bad either. The people in my life, my dog and my cows make everything bearable.