Fall Back

Despite living in a state that’s had a mask mandate for a long time, I still see what seems like significant numbers of unmasked people when I go into large stores. I just don’t get it. If this far into the pandemic people aren’t masking, I can’t change their minds by asking them nicely to do it. I know this because I tried a few times and incurred only anger. Store managers have told me they can’t enforce the mandate — which I researched and found out actually is the same as a law — for fear of violent repercussions. It makes me sad — but then, the end of daylight savings makes me a little melancholy anyway.The days are short and where I live, tend to be dense with heavy fog during the first part of the day. I remind myself it’s only six weeks or so before we start heading back toward the sun but when the days are short, it’s hard to remember that. I strategically place my S.A.D. light in front of me while I look at the morning newspaper, I reincarnate unfinished projects from last winter, I continue to study Spanish, I write, I curl up and read with my dog — though she’s turned into a small tyrant, demanding more than what I feel is her fair share of the heated blanket. My friend Molly, who died a few years ago, loved this time of year. She looked forward to it and used it as a time for reflection and personal growth. I’m working on being like Molly.

Image courtesy of Pixabay