Page 16 - ActsCOVID-19_and_Me

thoroughfare, there was no sign of them. It is a joy that Bayleigh and Chase spend time here, and I hope that fortune and instinct will cause them to pass this way again.
Meeting and Greeting
The etiquette of meeting and greeting in the age of COVID-19 is a challenge for most of us. Previously, we were accustomed to drawing closer to others when we met them, sometimes to hear
Who are you?
~ Jack Fancher, Heron Point
them better but often to connect with them in a more personal
way. Now, meeting someone is awkward as we send ourselves
a six-foot social distancing reminder and then struggle to maintain that distance
throughout the encounter.
I recall the first time I met someone in the hallway of the main building as we were
both wearing masks and wondering who the other individual
was. For a moment, I believed that I could have passed without acknowledging that another person was there. However, there were the eyes that I could not ignore, and I raised my hand in a greeting. She returned it with goodwill and respect.
We are adapting and defining what is safe and what is gracious in a greeting. We look to the eyes to engage a person rather than to the smile. We have also become better at looking at the whole person— the shape, gait, attire, and tilt of the head. I suspect that we noticed many of these characteristics before, but now we depend on them to ensure that meeting and greeting remains a meaningful and pleasant human experience.
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