I don’t care what Dr. Fauci says.  I have received  my second covid-19 shot, and I’m going back out into the world–wearing a mask, of course. However,  this week, when  doing normal stuff,  I realized  that  things aren’t quite the same.    Actually I felt a little bit like Rip Van Winkle, awakening after a very long sleep.  Guess  I’m having a second shot re-entry shock.

Here’s what’s changed:

People at my senior  exercise class look older.   Their hair is mostly gray or white. We were afraid to visit a hair salon (even though Nancy Pelosi did)  Unless you color your hair at home, you had to go natural. . Many may never color their hair again.

Women of all ages  have longer hair.  They’re either letting it grow, or cutting it themselves.  I cut mine for an entire year, and it didn’t look too bad.  But there were piles of hair all over the floor at the beauty shop today. .

My beautician found her biological father this year.  She’s in her 40’s and found him through a DNA test.  Turns out, he lives a block away from her home.  She had seen him, but they had never met.  Her birth was the result of a high school romance.  I wondered why her mother never told her, but it wasn’t my place to probe.

Most everyone has gained some weight.  (Not me, of course—ha). Faces look fuller, pants tighter.  Some lucky people have maintained their weight, but most haven’t.  The average weight gain during the pandemic is about 12 pounds.

Folks are friendlier and more talkative.  It used to be that people were too busy to stop and chat—they were always on their way to somewhere else. But after a year of solitude, most of us are hungry for conversation.  The store clerks, people behind desks, casual acquaintances—everyone you encounter is more relaxed and laid back.

We’ve acquired some new hobbies, or learned new skills. Knitting, sewing, crocheting—all are making a comeback.  My husband and I have discovered the fun of working jigsaw  puzzles together.  Neither of us had done them since we were kids. Puzzles are not just for fun–they’re good for the brain.

When the pandemic is over, we will find  the world  a different place than the one we knew before.  Maybe that’s a good thing.