In the nightmare that has been the last year and more, introverts have frequently joked that this time has been a dream.  The idea of not being allowed to hang out with a lot of people is truly a dream come true for some of us.  Not that we don’t like people, and it’s not that we’re shy, but if you understand it correctly, you know that introverts become drained both physically and mentally when hanging with a lot of people for a long period of time.  But despite that, we too dreamed of a time when we could freely go to social events with friends without a mask, and the time finally arrived for me this week.

Last weekend was Mother’s Day and we decided to go to the Farmer’s Market.  In the days prior, we were told if we had been fully vaccinated we could be outside with others without masks.  Who would have thought that would be such a big deal?  It was a beautiful sunny morning with a nice stiff wind (there are no breezes here) and it was glorious.  I have to admit I’m a bit of a rule follower and so the mast wearing had become a habit, and with it, that slight guilty feeling for not wearing it.  But it makes no sense to be vaccinated and still wear a mask, so we didn’t.  The farmers market was busy but I was distracted by the grandsons, so it wasn’t that overwhelming.  Probably a good warm-up for yesterday.

Yesterday marked a great day, the first time in a long time where friends and I planned to go together to a social event, complete with music, wine, lots of people and no masks.  It was a wonderful afternoon, a day when for a little while, it felt like the nightmare had never occurred.  We laughed, caught up on all the school stories for the last year, shared family stories and how everyone had fared.  We sat in the van together without masks, different from the last time we had gone somewhere together where we HAD worn masks. 

Yesterday I watched friends and families sitting on the grass talking together, people tasting wine and eating from food trucks, dancing to live music, playing bingo and shopping.  It was truly as though all the craziness of the past year had never happened, but about halfway through, and perhaps the wine had a bit to do with it, I started to feel overwhelmed.  There were too many people, the music was too loud, there was too much talking, too many things to see all at once.  I had trouble keeping track of conversations and found myself distracted by silly things.  I realized that I just wanted to sit and observe, watching people in an environment I hadn’t participated in for a long time, to soak in the sights and sounds by myself.  That’s the introvert speaking – I loved being with friends again, but I’m almost wishing there was a way to slowly transition back into life again.  I mean, even in my jobs this year, I’ve been able to isolate a lot.  Being in my cubicle with a few people or being at home with my small family had not prepared me to sit among hundreds of festive people. 

There were just so many stories happening all at once and I couldn’t focus on one long enough to formulate something to write.  I mean, just writing about the crazy things people wear would be a great blog – there was a lot of fashion over function happening that just begged to be written about.  And did you know the 70’s have returned?  I could have told them that some of it didn’t work the first time.  But being distracted by all the other things going on kept me from focusing like I used to. 

Perhaps this is where the stories begin again.  Perhaps now that we’re getting back to normal I can be more intentional in going places, whether with someone or by myself, to sit and contemplate and share my thoughts again.  Being by myself is great, but it doesn’t make for good storytelling.  The great stories are out there with all those people but perhaps this next time, we’ll start with something a little more simple and try to avoid the stimulation overload.