So much can change in a few short weeks! I was on campus briefly yesterday to pick up my laptop and it felt great to be able to walk from my car to my building without a mask, but I didn't notice the most welcome change until I was ready to leave: all the little arrows on the floors and doors have been removed. No more one-way staircases! No more exit doors that are hard to access from my office! No more bullying arrows pointing out my intransigence on those rare occasions when I cheat and go out the entrance door!
I noticed a similar change at the grocery store: all the signs and arrows marking one-way aisles have been removed. Everyone was still wearing masks inside, but I no longer had to strategize how to get to that lone item in the middle of an aisle when I was on the wrong end to go the right way, if that makes any sense. I know those one-way aisles helped maintain social distancing, but many customers ignored them entirely, while those screaming arrows gave the tiny Puritans living inside my head one more reason to make me feel guilty every time I shopped.
Of course I know we're not out of the woods yet. My county is experiencing a sudden surge in new cases, although the total number is so low that it would have looked like good news a few months ago. On campus we're allowed to remove masks indoors in small groups as long as everyone present is vaccinated, but if anyone objects, we will gladly keep them on. I'll keep masking in other settings until the local vaccination rate rises to a more reasonable level, but it's a treat to be able to keep the mask off outside, especially in the face of an approaching heat wave.
Most of all, though, I'm delighted to say goodbye to all those bullying arrows. To celebrate my newfound freedom, when I leave my office today I intend to walk straight out the most convenient doorway, even if someone is coming the other way. Take that, tiny Puritans! I'm walking wherever I want!
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