"Fully Vaccinated"

 I shouldn't let the little things get to me.

Especially when it's so easy for said little things to get under my skin and ruin like....my entire day.

So. We had church today.

Nothing too crazy about that....beyond the fact that our Stake 'finally' loosened restrictions on mask wearing, following the trend of everywhere else where they stated if an individual is fully vaccinated then they don't have to wear a mask.

Which I didn't think much of. Like I knew there would be people walking around maskless.

But I wouldn't be one of them because I still have a couple of weeks to go before I can get my second dose....and a couple of weeks after that until I'm actually considered "fully" vaccinated.

So like...I still have a month to go.

And I figured that a lot of people would be in the same boat. That they'd be wearing masks.

They weren't.

Maybe all the individuals who aren't fully vaccinated are still staying home....

But in the meeting itself?

It was just me and one other person wearing a mask.

Like...my roomies were wearing masks too...though with both of them being fully vaccinated, one of them chose to take their mask off during the service, while my other roomie kept theirs on.

But like....out of a good fiftyish people in the room....only three of us wearing masks....seemed so wrong.

Like only 32% of my state is considered fully vaccinated.

Which meant that I was extremely skeptical that everyone else in the room with me was fully vaccinated.

Like the odds didn't match up. 

But its not like you can confront people about it. Ask if they've been vaccinated. Ask to see their vaccinated cards.

No it's the honor system. The trust system..

Which after over a year of dealing with anti-maskers. I know exactly how 'honorable' people in my state are.

And it bugged me....knowing that there was a high chance that a good third of these people in the room with me weren't vaccinated. They weren't being honest in their dealings with their fellow peers.

They were going maskless because they wanted to not because they'd actually gotten the vaccine. 

Of course.

I don't have any way to prove it.

It could be that my ward actually was more proactive and got their vaccines earlier than I did and are considered fully vaccinated. It could be that 'all' of the others in that room were vaccinated.

But I don't believe it.

*exhales*

And that's put me in a bit of a....pickle? I suppose.

Because on the one hand....there is sooo much peer pressure. So much judgement from the non mask wearers on those still wearing masks.

It's a line I knew would occur at some point.

Where instead of it being odd to be maskless....it's now odd to still be wearing a mask.

I knew that turning point would come.

But with how slowly it's been progressing at work where 80% of my coworkers are still wearing masks and around 50% of the customers (though the number is dwindling) are still wearing masks...

It's not yet seen as odd to be wearing a mask at my job.

So it threw me off for it to turn around so suddenly at church and have it be 'weird' to still be wearing a mask when no one else was.

Do I want to have to deal with the stress of that peer pressure at church? To know that people all around me are wondering why I'm still wearing a mask when 'we don't have to anymore?' Do I want to have to deal with that?

Should I stay home instead? Should I avoid going to church in person until after I'm fully vaccinated a month from now?

Or should I be stubborn. Refused to be cowed and still go to church wearing a mask? 

*exhales*

I don't know honestly.

Like I'm not expecting to go to church in a couple of weeks because I have no idea how I'll be feeling after getting the second shot.

But the other three weeks? Will I go? Will I stay home?

I don't know. 

I probably won't until the day of. 

Still. It's an unwelcomed stress that I didn't want to have to deal with and now have to. *exhales*

Guess we'll see what happens. 

Until you next find these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi