Yeah, that changed everything in Everyday life

A couple weeks ago I was told they were letting us work from home for a couple days because of the coronavirus stuff. No big deal, I figured. My plan: work from home on Friday, a slower day, to work out the bugs just in case I had to work from home Monday. I had every intention of going into the office.

And then …

It’s been two weeks of working at home and there’s no end in sight. Let me say that this is not a woe-is-me post. I still have a job (for now), I can work from home (for now), not much has changed in my life. I am saving a ton of $$ on lunches because I’m not doing takeout every day, I suppose. No matter how fortunate I am, though, it’s still an adjustment. I haven’t done it every day, but I feel most productive on the days where I take a couple 15-minute walking breaks. It allows me to get outside and that’s a treat, especially on a sunny, breeze free day.

Having been in journalism for a couple decades, it’s so weird now to be on the other end of the news. Were I still at my old gig, I’d be working a lot of hours under a lot of stress with a lot of cooks in the kitchen wanting their ingredients added to what already was an overwhelmed stew. I miss being part of it, but I also count my blessings that I’m not working insane hours.

After 9/11 and the Boston bombings, there was some end in sight. Here there is no light at the end of the tunnel. The kicks to the groin keep coming thanks to an inept federal response, and if you believe the esteemed Dr. Fauci we should be ready to bend over and take it for a while. It’s so easy to become demoralized and to want to quit. I know we can’t, but …

I hope all of you are holding up well. I hope you have your toilet paper and your flour and your yeast so you can bake bread and cookies while being sure you’ll be able to wipe without issue for the next year. I’ll talk about my grocery store travails in another entry. They’re not all that interesting, just a microcosm of how we all feel: powerless and afraid.