Last year when it was recommended that everyone wear face masks when out in public, I adopted the habit straight away. While many people complained about the discomfort of wearing that cloth over your face, I never found it all that troublesome.

Oh, there were issues learning the correct placement to keep it from fogging the lenses of my eyewear but actual, ‘I can’t breathe’ or ‘This is stifling’ reactions I simply did not have. Not in the spring nor in the heat of the summer. And I went out a lot in those masks. I was one of the few people at my day job that remained an in-office worker carrying out essential tasks that could not be completed remotely. (My choice, management made it very clear if I wanted to work from home like the rest of my team I could. No pressure, no inducement. It was entirely up to me.)

This year, this summer, I have found that I have very little tolerance for my masks. Short trips in the summer heat to my car and from the car to the officer are barely tolerable, causing me to rip the thing off and get air blowing across my face as quickly as possible.

I still wear it. The Delta variant is dangerous and highly contagious so even with my vaccinated status I am taking every possible precaution. But still I wonder, where did my tolerance for masks go?