SHRINKING

I’d been near someone who tested positive for Covid so I was now banished to working from home for the next two weeks.

I was sitting at the dining room table when my son Alex came into the room. I quickly pulled my paper mask up over my nose and mouth before going back to work. While I was typing I noticed the mask kept creeping up near my eyes and I would pull it down, only for it to pop back up again.

“Oh my God, this is so annoying!” I tugged the mask back into place.

Alex looked over at me. “When do your test results come back?” he poured some coffee into a mug and went to the refrigerator to get the milk.

“Not soon enough!” I said as I pulled the mask back into place. I looked over at Alex. “Do you think my head is shrinking?”

Alex started to laugh.

“No, I’m serious!” I got up to go to the front hall mirror. Looking at my reflection I moved the mask back into place and pinched the nose guard in place. I looked at the bottom of my mask that now covered my entire neck instead of being tucked under my chin. “When we started this whole mess a year ago I wasn’t having this problem with the masks!”

I sadly looked over at Alex pointing at my face. “But look at me now!”

Alex shook his head. “I’m pretty sure you’re head isn’t shrinking.”

“Well, what about this!” I flipped the hood of my sweatshirt up over my head. The top of the hood flopped over my forehead and almost covered my eyes. “Who’s sweatshirt hood fits like this?”

Alex started to laugh. “I don’t think any of my hoods do that.”

“See! I’m turning into a peanut head!” I turned my head from side to side. “I can’t see a thing!” I folded back part of the hood so I could see. “Who do you know that has to fold a cuff in their hood?”

I turned back to my reflection. “I look ridiculous!” I pushed the hood off my head and went to the linen closet.

“What are you doing?” Alex asked as he followed me to the closet.

“I’m going to see if these masks come in sizes.” I pulled the box of blue surgical masks from the shelf and scanned the box. “Nope. One size seems to fit all.” I tossed the box back on the shelf and looked at Alex.

“Maybe you could try a cloth mask. They might fit better.” he suggested.

“I can’t.” I went across the room and took off my mask. “When this first started I told myself I wasn’t going to make this something fun like matching my masks to my outfits. When this all goes away I don’t want to have a drawer of cute masks that I’d invested in and wouldn’t want to throw away.”

I sat down in the chair and tossed the paper mask onto the coffee table. “So I’m not doing it!” I crossed my arms and leaned back in the chair.

Alex shook his head. “It’s up to you Peanut Head.”