Shaking hands again? Are we ready?

 

Are we ready to hold (shake) hands again?

 

According to the most recent data, 58% of  American’s have been vaccinated [click here]. Although the process of vaccinations seems far from over, it got me thinking about relaxing the behaviors we’ve adopted since the Pandemic raised its ugly head. One of those behaviors, the biggest one, in my opinion, is that of using our bare hands to touch anything we bring inside our homes without worry. ‘Wash your hands’ was the rallying cry to help us stay as healthy as possible. These days, our hands are in so much water that they’re looking twenty or more years older than they should at our age.

But that’s another topic.

We use our hands for many things. As human animals, we have to. We wipe down, wash up, dress up, dress down, touch things and people. We reach out, blow our nose, pick our nose, cook, pick up our children, hug our loved ones, pet our animals, grab things, move things…we use our hands for everything.

But are we ready to shake hands?

The act of shaking someone else’s hand is a huge step forward after being told to elbow bump instead for the better part of one year. Almost two years in, shaking hands is a daunting proposition I grant you. How do we start, where do we start? Especially when we’re still in this mode of unease and questioning everything. How secure do we feel in holding another’s hand? A stranger we want to trust. How comfortable are we in this arena? Do we still wipe down our groceries, do we still wear our masks, do we unmask in public in outdoor spaces?

So, are we really want to shake hands?

The art of shaking hands is serious business. We're told pre-historic man used to grunt in greeting each other, civilized man reaches out his hand for a handshake. So, the act of pressing flesh-on-flesh is a huge gesture which should be considered carefully. There are firm shakes, fish shakes, hard shakes, double handshakes, half-hearted shakes, and many more, which tell the receiver who we are and/or our intentions toward them. Are we serious, are we funny, are we kind, do we stand behind our words...do we shake on it? 

Get ready to shake hands…oh,...okay?

Ah, these are the questions, to be sure. What to do when all of this is settled?  How do we come out the other side feeling whole, somewhat, and doing this simple human thing we are wont to do? So many illnesses have been averted because we’ve gone through measures to prevent us from socializing. The best way to spread disease is by the closeness of touching, so the simple act of a handshake, I think, is a difficult needle to thread. Particularly when so much is still unanswered, but one we must bravely face when giving some semblance of normal. None of what we’re going through is ‘normal,’ so going back to normal seems very foreign indeed.

A simple handshake. A foreign concept. But necessary in the scheme of things in getting back to what we used to do so effortlessly. I hope we are ready.

~DaMarie

Photo Courtesy of McKenna Phillips