Post-COVID times have been filled with promise as people emerged like bears from hibernation. It’s as if we Rip Van Winkled for two years, a fanciful, fairytale-inspired way to frame our forced quarantine state. We’ve all flocked to restaurants to spend time with friends unseen in that sad, sequestered period. In wine-enabled conversations, we’ve learned a lot about what’s transpired in our friends’ lives, but we find that we are typecast as
the designated listeners.
While we are genuinely interested in other people’s lives, we wonder what we are doing wrong. We’ve been cooped up by Covid, too. Why aren’t others interested in us, our comings and goings and doings and/or lack of all? We’re stuck as
the designated listeners.
We read newspapers, online news, and books. We watch television news programs, including nightly news, sitcoms, and late-night talk shows. Movies may not be our thing, but we’ve delighted in the ones we’ve seen. We actively watch sports. We have news and views, yet we remain unable to contribute. While our smiles are returned, we don’t get past that active listening posture. We are
the designated listeners.
We practice good hygiene, fastidiously showering, applying lotions and deodorant, and brushing our teeth. Our clothing is washed promptly and we wield an iron as needed. We mind our Ps & Qs. But, darn it, it’s annoying to be stuck as
the designated listeners.
Here’s a blog post from two years ago, when we were newly incarcerated in the requisite homestay, yet remaining hopeful for the future, when we returned to our social life: https://www.pjcolando.com/a-writer-and-a-talker-limited-to-300-350-words/
We may have to return to dinner dates – with each other – at our favorite restaurant, our home sweet home. My husband and I delight in each other’s adventures, We laugh, we listen, we talk – in turns.
What’s been your post-Covid experience, Constant Reader?
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