2/22/22 was a great Twosday. I won’t remember the twin theme at school. I won’t remember the two minutes of crazy dancing we did at 2:22 in the afternoon. What will I remember? It was our first day in school in almost two years with no mask covering our faces.
I realize that masks were used to keep us healthy, but I think they were more to keep us silent and take away our identity. There has been no science to prove that masks work, but there is science to prove that they don’t. Enough ranting for now.
Let me say that even though I now possess roughly a mile of 1/4″ white and the same amount of black elastic, I hope to NEVER have to make another mask.
They were not difficult to construct. I used two rectangles of fabric and two pieces of elastic. I pleated the sides twice to make it fit over the face better, but not too tight. Everyone needs to be able to breathe and communicate. Do you know how hard it is to read aloud or give directions to a 10 year old with your face covered and your voice muffled all day? I did not want it sealed tightly to my face. (I did buy a microphone that picks up sound and could be worn on top of a mask. Add in reading glasses and feedback from the speaker and you have a whole new nightmare of existence!)
The state that I live in did away with mask mandates in public places a long time ago. The only places that were mandated were schools and some medical facilities. I had 1/6 of my students wearing their masks yesterday. One that constantly had his on his chin when it was mandated wore it more yesterday than he did in the last week! My husband is a high school teacher. His unofficial tally of mask wearers was about 1/3. Some, he said, were wearing them on their chin. Maybe for comfort and personal security reasons? Some of our colleagues wore masks also. Only a few.
It was great to see the smiling faces of the children and our co-workers. Let’s hope the masks never come back. I hope to never construct another one!
How many masks did you make for family and friends?
Later,
Lorrie
