It’s taken me 14 months of constantly wearing a mask in New York City (sometimes 2, and sometimes 2 with a face shield over them both) but I consider grabbing my mask as routine as grabbing my keys.

It will be nothing short of unsettling to not wear one in public and I’ll have to build up to that. Perhaps I’ll start by not wearing one when I take out the trash to the cans on my floor. Only twice in 14 months have I encountered another person when I do that. So that’s not really going to raise my pulse rate.

Not wearing one in the elevator, however, will be a giant leap forward. Probably when I graduate to that level of insouciance, I will be just about ready for the street. Imagine seeing peoples’ mouths and noses again. Then I’ll try not to fixate on their exhalations and, God forbid, sneezes or coughs. This will take some getting used to.

No question.