Do you find your tolerance of crowds has changed? Today I went grocery shopping and WOW was I uncomfortable. It was people-y.

We are EXTREMELY cautious in our household when it comes to “going out” during lockdown. We take turns going shopping unless we are hitting the side-by-side liquor store / grocery store combo in which case we divide and conquer (and do a proud Dance of Achievement when we get home; sweet!).

People-y

Today is Thursday and I was “out” to get our groceries before the expected larger crowds on the weekend; we have that flexibility in our home and we maximize it. I left after 1:00 so theoretically the lunch rush would be past but lo and behold, the grocery store was busy. Really busy. Uncomfortably busy.

OR maybe it’s just me. Maybe my tolerance for crowds has diminished so much during the past year that I am acutely, uncomfortably aware of the presence of other humans around me…

… they’re close, so close.

… are they wearing their mask correctly? I’m not sure it’s covering their nose completely.

… that’s NOT 6ft between us!

Don’t get me wrong; before all this I was fine with crowds… Concerts? Loved them! Crowded subway? No problem. But now that we’re face to face with a deadly virus that has potential to minimally make us VERY ill for an unknown period of time, I pay attention.

Today, I found it VERY people-y out and I didn’t like it. And it made me sad to think what people who are more poorly equipped to manage these stressors must feel. The impact of all this is impossible to measure.

So today, I bought an extra bag of chips. Because Covid.

*Photographer’s note: This image was shot on Christmas Day 2015… Back when we could “crowd”