Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a pre-determined theme chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the first day of the month is "Hat."
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Our town has several of these creepy sculptures of children just scattered throughout walking paths and parks. Why do I think these are creepy?
It's the soulless eyes.
Imagine if this was a real child?! No, don't. Don't do that to yourself.
Friday's Hat Trick
1. Zelda has not been feeling well. She threw up at least once a day for three days and then she started having litter box issues before I finally called the vet on Friday. She continued to throw up some more and I do not want to discuss the state of her box, but I do want you to know that true love is holding down a resistant cat while you chop fur off her "sanitation area." ANYWAY. I went to the vet's office to pick up some medicine that we have to give Zelda for a week.
2. My husband's department was doing its annual awards ceremony and I went. We brought cupcakes from the local bakery and I went from group to group chatting with everyone and laughing at one of my husband's co-workers who literally wore stained cargo shorts and a sweater with a ripped arm. (Just for comparison, my husband was wearing a suit and tie because it was an awards ceremony. I was wearing a dress!)
3. We went to the grocery store for our regular Friday date night.
While there is nothing super special about any of these events, it was notable that I did not wear at a mask at the vet office, the university, or the grocery store. I had a mask with me in case I got uncomfortable, but I think I'm officially moving on. If you had told me in March 2020 that it wouldn't be until April 2023 that things were "normalish" again for me, I think I would have lost my mind. But here we are.
My next challenge will be eating a meal in a restaurant. Can I do it? I'll report back in 2024. Ha!
Hey, congratulations on your attendance at all these places unmasked. I understand how uneasy it is at first and how vulnerable it makes you feel. Bravo!
ReplyDeleteI have a longhaired cat as well--also female--and if feline lore is to be believed, the fact that she is a grey cat makes her intolerant of any ministrations. She often has to have her "skirt" seen to, and it's no picnic for either of us. I hope Zelda feels much better very soon.
Oh, are gray girl kitties fighters? Ha. I had no idea. She definitely has a will and that can make it hard to help her with some grooming procedures.
DeleteOh yes- Zelda has that beautiful long fur. But I can see how it would be a problem in "certain" situations. I hope she's feeling better!
ReplyDeleteSo you're moving on- that's good! I mean, I know a few people who still wear masks and that's what they feel comfortable with. But I'm glad you're feeling comfortable out and about in the world again.
Yes, those statues are creepy, now that you point out the eyes!
Those statues are all over town, too! A lot of them are wearing hats, so be prepared to start a lot of the next few months with dead eyes staring at you from my blog.
DeleteI seem to have also moved on from masks. I do plan to get another booster, however.
ReplyDeleteThe CDC doesn't recommend I get another booster yet, so I guess I just wait until I'm told what to do re: vaccines. Neither my husband or I has tested positive for COVID yet, so fingers crossed our luck holds.
DeleteYou can do it...but also, DON'T if you don't want to. Also, I don't bat an eye when I see people wearing masks, so if you feel more comfortable wearing them while out and about, I say for for it.
ReplyDeletePoor Zelda and poor you (true love, indeed!); hope she's feeling better soon and the meds work some magic.
Mask wearing is definitely a political statement where I live and we were getting a lot of comments about wearing them which is honestly one of the biggest reasons I've stopped. I'm not entirely comfortable with the decision, but the alternative does feel sort of dangerous, to be completely honest. If I am sick or on public transport, I will probably wear a mask, but I'm not sure about other circumstances.
DeletePoor Zelda. We've had to cut "dingleberries" off Oscar a couple of times but we have to do it sneakily because she is so skittish that we could not hold her down without potentially getting attacked/bitten by her... I hope she feels better soon!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you've felt comfortable out and about without a mask. Re-entry feels weird at first but I adjusted pretty quickly.
Oh, there's no sneaking up on Zelda. It's definitely a two-person job to make sure she's clean when she's in GI distress! Poor thing. It can't be comfortable for her.
DeleteYes, I have been surprised at how comfortable I've been going out without a mask. It does seem like old habits die hard.
I have been going mask free more and more often, and it is still weird. I still have to take a beat and think, Do I want to wear a mask? Good for you for taking the steps you need to feel comfortable and doing it at your own pace.
ReplyDeletePoor Zelda. I hope that the medicine works quickly.
Those sculpture eyes are TRULY alarming. I made an out-loud "AAAH!" sound when I got to the second photo. Yikes.
BE PREPARED for more creepy eye photos. You've been warned!
DeleteDate nights at the grocery store are my favorite.
ReplyDeleteWe were watching a show set in March of 2020, and it gave us a lot of anxious flashbacks as they went through what happened that month. I have a lot of unresolved trauma from the year 2020.
I don't think I'll ever consume media with a pandemic setting. Maybe in like twenty years? But not in the immediate future, that's for sure. Too much stress.
DeleteI din't wear masks anymore either. The kids stopped wearing them to school, and since that seems to be like the most germs we will ever encounter in one place, wearing them other places seemed not very effective. I am still getting used to wearing lipstick again. We have those dead-eyed bronze kids here too. WHYYYYYY?
ReplyDeleteI don't know why, but I think we have half a dozen or more of those bronze statues and they really freak me out.
DeletePoor Zelda! I hope the meds help! Good for you for being able to attend all those events sans mask! That is great!
ReplyDeleteSo far Zelda is status quo. She's puking less, but her box is still...not awesome. I'm giving the meds another day to work before I call the vet again.
DeleteNope nope nope nope nope, no creepy children singing in horror movies, no creepy children statues.
ReplyDeleteI have pretty much stopped with the masks, but it's been raining and my allergies are terrible, as are my airways, and I never liked hacking up a lung in a public place before Covid, although it's been the norm for much of my life, and it's even worse now. I think I need to find a better allergy med.
Oh, if I see someone coughing in public without a mask, I will shoot them a dirty look and put one on myself! Ha! It probably is allergies, but it makes me so irate! I am a mask snob.
DeleteI want to say that I'm proud of you for going mask-less in these settings, but I don't want to make it seem like wearing a mask isn't a good thing! But I know it has been a source of major anxiety for you, so I'm glad you were able to do this and feel okay about it. Progress! <3
ReplyDeleteHey, we'll get back to some sort of "normal" someday!
DeleteOh, I feel you on the mask-wearing. Every time I don't wear a mask (running into Target for 5 minutes, etc.) I second-guess myself. The one place I don't? Work. I have no idea why I'm "okay" with teaching students and interacting with colleagues without a mask, but going into a store gets my heart rate up. I make no sense. Do what feels right for you - whatever that is. (Although I *am* curious whether Dr. BB also went mask-free?)
ReplyDeleteDr. BB has basically been mask free on campus since February or so. We both still wore masks basically everywhere else (except sometimes I would forgo a mask if I was literally running into the library just to pick up books) until a few weeks ago. Dr. BB probably would have gone mask free before me because he was mask free at work, but he was patient with me while I caught up. Our hospital system just removed their mask mandate, too, so I can't think of anyplace I would *have* to wear a mask at this point, although I probably still would wear one if I went somewhere really crowded.
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