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Many are feeling good these days - so tired and angry because of the pandemic.
My feelings tend to fluctuate between longing and daring.
After the last few months with little contact, I urgently need to talk to people.
"I want to push myself between sweaty bodies on a dance floor again," said a friend.
It would be enough for me to sit at a table with friends without masks.
Since we don't live here in Israel or Bhutan, most of us will probably not roll up our sleeves for a while and quickly return to a healthy social life.
After all: As a consolation, you can fight for a temporary feeling of freedom with a quick test.
Recently you don't even have to stand in long queues - you just lend a hand yourself.
DIY has been popular since Corona.
After I was on waiting lists at three pharmacies, I finally got the first boxes a few weeks ago.
Friends who were really starved for analog society had already pretended to be doctors in online shops at the beginning of the year, in order to get professional tests for the back of the throat or very deep in the nose.
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Our first post-test meeting was with a family friend we hadn't seen for a year. "Hey, you can test yourself now," they invited. The joy was great, but before we fell into each other's arms, we froze. "May we?" "Sure, we're negative," I said. "We were yesterday too," said the friend. That wasn't enough for us.
Fortunately, the family hoarded a whole bunch of spit tests at home. We went into the living room and waited. A deep three-throated cough came through the kitchen door, which sounded like tuberculosis had broken out there. The test spit should be brought up from the depths of the throat, then the sound "Kruuua" should be made, according to the instructions. A greeting from the kitchen that took some getting used to and was served before the meal. But when in the end a hug pops out for me ...
However, this is not always guaranteed.
Friends, whom we met two days later, freshly tested, sent us the negative result by SMS in the morning, along with the comment: “Ready to rumble”.
But there was no body close to the greeting.
We were overwhelmed with the new old situation.
A hug felt wrong after all these contactless months.
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We are simply too used to waving up to the anniversary window on birthdays.
Even when I told my friend last year that I had to go home because of a death, she patted the air around me from a distance.
That may have been an exaggeration, but it felt right.
Even with the spit test friends, the hugs were bumpy.
How was that back then?
Did I squeeze or kiss the cheek - or both?
We have to slowly work our way back into the arms of the others.
And we need a new label.
Being able to show a negative test will be good form at dinner, party or coffee.
Before the guests arrive, you put on a fresh shirt or the eyeliner - and go back to the kitchen for a moment: Kruuua!
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