Why are we all suddenly socially awkward out there?

I opened the email, inviting me to a newsroom party at a park.

“Come meet new colleagues and reacquaint yourself with colleagues you’ve missed,” executive assistant Kimberly Torres wrote.

Also, there’d be tacos.

Wait, I thought, we’re going to hang out? All of us? In the same place? It’s been more than a year since we’ve all been together. The idea of a gathering in person made me a little anxious.

I enjoy talking to people. I’m just a little out of practice.

The other day at pickleball, I said hello to Carla and Cathy and then crossed my arms since we can’t shake hands.

There was an awkward pause. I blurted out, “I’m fully vaccinated!”

“We are, too!” Cathy said. They’re both teachers.

Our physical distance has created emotional distance, making conversation awkward at first. It doesn’t take long to get over that. (Wine helps.)

“Can I use your bathroom?” Ashlee asked when I had people over to swim. We didn’t ask before. Sure, I told Ashlee, just inside to your right.

At the park, I briefly hugged my colleagues. Hugs say a lot.

After so much time apart, it can be hard to know what to talk about. It seems silly to ask, “How are you?” or “What have you been doing?” (We’re just OK and binge-watching a lot of TV.)

To be fair, our interactions on video calls have been just as awkward, with technical difficulties, muting and unmuting ourselves.

I went with, “What did you discover new during the pandemic?”

Rebekah took up needlepoint. I told her I’d tried embroidery. We laughed at how good it felt to stab something thousands of times.

I had to be careful not to babble. I’ve missed this.

“It’s so good to see you,” I said to everyone.

It really was.