In this new world of socially acceptable face mask coverings, I am finding that it is harder to not only immediately recognize a person I may know, but also to interact with them.  Let’s face it,  we make determinations about other people based on HOW we interact with them, and facial expressions are a major piece of that interaction. I wouldn’t buy a car if the top half of it was covered and I certainly wouldn’t buy a used car unless I could see and inspect every part of it.
As I have more opportunities to socially interact with others, I am finding that, in my attempt to have a more fulfilling interaction, I have started verbally describing my facial expressions, reactions and gestures to those I am speaking with. I am now a talking closed caption version of myself, developing a unique and interesting set of descriptive words and phrases to effectively capture a more enhanced interactive experience.
Initially, I thought that there would be no need to describe my facial expressions as, given my mask, I would use my verbal expressions more frequently, but talking (or even breathing for that matter) whilst wearing a mask makes my glasses fog up and since I have yet to master the perfect nose pinch-glass tuck technique, I try to minimize the times I need to superfluously talk, requiring an increased need for a post-facial reaction description, to convey my feelings.
Rather than simply relying on the impulsive response of curling my upper lip down in a sad face to appropriately convey my reaction to the news of my friend telling me that she broke her toe two months back, I now describe my reaction saying things like “I am frowning” rather than the much more appropriate verbal response of “That is too bad. I am sorry to hear that.”  I have become a walking and talking describer of the emojis I use in texting!
Instead of saying to someone who just told me they got engaged “Wonderful! That is so amazing. I am so happy for you!” I now say things like “I am smiling really big and now I am blowing you winky heart kisses.”  Likewise, whenever I want to convey my frustration with a situation, I describe my reaction with a “I’m now sticking my tongue out of the side of my mouth and crinkling my nose.” I feel that these reaction descriptions are important in keeping the personal connections I am making with someone, more authentic.  After all, a mask can hide an automatic response of a smile of enthusiasm when meeting someone new, and so I feel that if I describe that “I am smiling enthusiastically, but with my lips still closed” then I have successfully conveyed my feelings of an appropriately measured positive response to them…  But then again, I can also embrace the mask’s ability to cover an unanticipated negative response such as grimace when noticing that my friend is in desperate need of a haircut.  In these particular situations, I press my mute button!
Narrate. Narrate.
Kathy Naumann, possessor of NATURALLY curly hair and the understanding that you can’t control everything!

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