December 12, 2022
I decided I was ready to socialize when I talked to a dog instead of a person! The owner of the dog was not friendly to my “hello” and so I snapped my fingers at his dog on a leash. The dog ran over to me and smelled my hand. I talked to the dog. The owner then jerked at the leash to get the dog moving on. It is uncommon for me to talk to dogs on the street. The next day I had a detailed talk with the boy collecting shopping carts at Food Basics; I explained to him my glasses fogged up and did not see him offering a cart to me. I explained to the boy the constant challenge of my fogging up glasses when going into stores from the cold into the warm. After wiping my glasses clean, I noticed the larger, professional-looking mask he wore. He explained it was an N95, that he ordered on Amazon made by 3M. It felt good to socialize with a live body; a change from being mostly solitary at home, locked down because of the Covid.
People are different, of course, and have varying needs for interaction with other people. Some are gregarious, while others can probably live more hermit-like. I can exist mostly by myself, but I am on the verge of feeling a need for more interaction with people after a couple of years of isolation.
I hit a triple yesterday when I called my clinic to talk with a doctor. The clinic gave me a phone interview that was alright although not a real in-person experience talking with someone. But the remote consultation resulted in a personal visit with a doctor. An outing like this is welcome now, even if it is a visit to a doctor that could have unpleasant surprises. Further, the doctor sent me to have an x-ray at the medical imaging center.
At the imaging center, where I went there this morning when it was minus twenty-four celsius (it is minus 11 in Fahrenheit)…..it was the chance for another outing! An opportunity arose for another personal chat when we had to line up outside the door to the clinic in the cold before they beckoned us in. I had a long chat about the cold and what it does to your toes in running shoes I had on, with a young woman in front of me. And with the x-ray technician inside, I discussed her profession, training, and the opportunity for jobs in her field. It was very satisfying to physically engage with someone in a conversation.
In normal times, Imeet with friends for coffee, have lunch with my retired colleagues, engage in heavy political discussions at the gym between using the machines and socializing on the ski hills. But these opportunities have dried up over the past two years: the government announcements for caution, the lockdowns, and the daily numbers of infected, hospitalized, and dead people have created a paranoia resulting in people afraid to get close, much less, talk with others.
In this current lockdown, the restaurants cannot serve inside, and the gyms are closed. I discovered that over the last few months, I have become more and more hungry to seek opportunities to talk with people; not only with my friends, but anyone willing to talk. Now, I am not overly gregarious, but I have a certain amount of desire for social interaction. It would seem people have varying needs for socializing, but I think most of us have reached a desire for an increased level of social interaction, similar to what we had been used to in the past. But, the last two years have trained us to be cautious of others and “keep our distance”, so I was wondering how the governments will change their communication strategy to let people know it is alright again to get together. I think this will be a challenge for the government and may take time.
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