Are you one of those judgy people who look with scorn at locals who are not wearing a face mask? I have saved myself a clinical face mask that I picked up two months ago when my daughter had a doctor's appointment (before all the clinics stopped seeing patients in-house).

I used to be one of those JUDGY people mentioned above until one day, I was coming home from work and needed to make an emergency stop at the grocery store for some bread. I turned off the car, grabbed my keys, looked for my face mask, and realized that I had forgotten to bring it with me. I had left the face mask at home.

UGH. I was tormented with self-judgment. I shuffled my way into the grocery store up the block from my house and told the entrance employee polishing off grocery carts with a sanitizer, "Hi. No, I don't have a face mask! Please don't judge me. I wasn't expecting to come to the store today. I am so sorry!"

I know there are hundreds of YouTube videos showing how to make a simple face mask, but for some reason, it is very hard for me to sit down and actually MAKE one of my own--even if the face mask requires no sewing!

In the words of a sheriff I know who lives in another town, "when you wear a face mask, you protect others and yourself."

Here is the secret to wearing a face mask: For goodness sake, when you wear one, please WEAR IT OVER YOUR NOSE!

I stress this not just to you, but to myself as well, because the one thing I hate about wearing a face mask is that it makes my face get all hot and sweaty! I still keep my nose covered anyway. I have seen a lot of folks not wear a face mask in stores, but wearing one is not just for your protection, it's for protecting others from YOU, too.

WEARING A FACE MASK IN PUBLIC AND YES, EVEN IN THE GROCERY STORE, PROTECTS OTHERS FROM THE FOLLOWING:

  • Spittle when you talk
  • Spittle when you breathe
  • Spittle when you cough

Please wear a dang face mask whenever possible. I promise I will not judge you if you aren't wearing one because I know what it's like to leave the house and forget to bring it to the car.

And if you don't like the message I am saying, hopefully, you will accept it coming from the Sheriff!

Here is my favorite way to make a face mask out of all the videos I've watched ad nauseum on YouTube. Look, Ma, NO SEWING!

MORE INFO: 7 easy ways to stop touching your face

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