It Takes a Village to Get a Laugh #SOL20 #TWTBlog

Our eyes meet as I bend down to grab my basket to move forward in line.  When I return to standing, our view of each other is blocked.  I slowly lean over and peek around the person in front of me.  Our eyes meet again.  I repeat this several times.  She is intently watching me, but I do not receive the laughs I typically get with peek a boo.

“I wonder if it is because you have a mask on,” says the older man in the next line. I guess he is watching my antics.  “She can’t see your smile or hear your boo,”  he adds. 

“What if you make your eyes pop open?” suggests the woman in the line on the other side of me.

I look up to notice my audience is larger than I intended.  I can’t stop now.  I put my grocery basket down for full mobility and give it my all.  My body peeks, my eyes pop, and I add jazz hands with my boo as I remove them from my eyes.

At first nothing … she just watches me warily.  Then she slowly begins to mimic me.  Hiding behind her mother and peeking out to meet my boo.  I watch as the other customers in the lines around me start to play as well.  When she notices at least six of us playing simultaneously she stops and then lets out a laugh that shakes the rafters.  We all follow suit and enjoy the fruits of collaborative efforts. 

In some ways, social distancing is bringing us together.