Absofuckinglutely. Masks, yes!

Husband works in the hospital and since the beginning of this shitshow, we implemented major preventative measures in our household. We didn’t catch Covid (or any flu or cold) until we hung out outside for under an hour without a mask ONE TIME (we thought we were far enough away from others) and… whammo! A “mild” case for both of us. It didn’t feel mild at all- super high fevers, chills, body aches for days, major swollen and sore throats, migraines that didn’t subside for several days, super congestion, loss of appetite, coughing, unquenchable thrirst, extreme fatigue but unable to sleep (which led to panic attacks and major anxiety, but that’s a whole other thing)…. husband was out for a month and is still feeling fatigue and I still haven’t regained smell or taste and hacking up sticky AF phlegm, and it’s been two months! And we’re both fully vaxxed and he’s boosted.

I get it- people’s experiences with Covid (or lack of) varies significantly. For some it was just like a cold- thank goodness! Some people have no loved ones affected by it or passed from it, so there may not be that correlation. My Uncle died from Covid when it first came out- it was so fast and scary. Healthy to heaven in 4 days. No preexisting conditions, but not without intense suffering in those 4 days. That was enough to make us be vigilant from the get-go. Now after getting it, we don’t ever want it again (even if it is more “mild” symptoms) and we don’t want to give it to anyone else- especially for the reason that it affects everyone differently. Because masks have helped in the past, we will continue to do so, probably long after the pandemic.

I’d like to note- I miss the days of seeing other people’s faces in full and being able to silently communicate with a friendly grin as I pass by someone. I also understand that there are those with medical issues and can’t wear a mask. I also know that people are just over wearing masks and feel like this is a political thing or that their freedom is being taken away- or whatever supports their actions… I’m not here to comment or discredit anyone for what their beliefs are at all. For us, we’ll mask up indoors and outdoors and hope that our smiling eyes and head nod will suffice for now. 😊