RESTING MASK FACE

Ok, people -- please don’t take it personally — that’s NOT a scowl you see peeking out from behind my new liberty print face covering.

This is just me now. It’s my resting-mask-face - please don’t read into it.

It’s not that I am tired, or in a mood, or have eschewed filler since February. It’s not that I have been dulled by the merciless deluge of marker fumes oozing from the giant dry-erase schedule that's perched on my kitchen counter like a holy grail promising me peace. It’s not that at all.

In fact, you probably can’t see straight because those gorgeous (if-not-a-bit-scratched) Barton Perreiras, from last summer, are quite fogged up from all that mask-breath. If you could actually see me, you would know that I’m grinning ear to ear.

I mean, who wouldn’t be all giggles when she realizes, mid left-turn on Ocean, that she may or may not have missed an installment for two school bus routes, that may or may not happen? Who isn’t smiling while their google autofills “how to find a live-in driver who is trained in jujitsu, knows cognitive behavioral therapy and can cook?”

I am full on cheshire cat beneath this gauzy shield.

I can leave the house without a purse! Score! I only having to drum up fresh “go” bags for all members of the family! Not enough emojis to depict my glee. And while it may not look like it, trust me, I am thrilled to see you! Ok, I may not open my window to say “hi” -- but it’s not like I have anything against making idle chitchat, while recoiling in my seat and mentally engineering the distance between us. It's not like I WANT you to back away lest you catch a glimpse of my threadbare tkees, (again from last summer), twisted up in the wad of old gloves precariously nestled behind my gas pedal. I may look like I don't care, but it’s just the mask! Big hi! Kiss!

I may seem nonplussed, but I am SO happy for all of you prancing off to your boats! Even more so if you have antibodies. If perchance you have a boat AND antibodies, then I am really sorry I cancelled lunch on you in October. I shouldn’t have done that! I am remorseful, which you could totally tell, if I wasn't wearing this damn mask...

So, don't let my resting-mask-face fool you. Let's not add confusion to an already confusing time. Please know that I'm smiling inside.

You may not be able to see the pure joy plastered on my face (even though I paid upfront for the Invisalign, and the photographer, in time for the 2021 Bat Mitzvah date, that may or may not happen), but trust me, it's genuine. I'm beaming… beneath my mask.