Pen-demic

I can remember a number of years ago when people first had the ability to “work from home”. The studies quickly showed that “out of sight, out of mind” meant that the people who worked from home didn’t get promoted or get raises, at the same rate as those who came into the office, because the Boss never saw them and quite frankly, it was easy to “forget” them. Companies were so afraid that people working from home would spend time on “other things”, that some companies set up the work computers so they would tell the “Boss” if the person stepped away from the computer for more than a preprogrammed allowable time. While a few industries continued to promote it, most companies preferred their employees to come to a central office or workplace instead. Now, after 2 years of people working from home, or working“hybrid” with some days in the office and typically more days at home due to covid restrictions, working from home (or “ off site ”)has become the “norm” in many industries. ...

  Sarah Burgess Tomorrow I turn 45. This year I have spent more time in my closet than a classroom. I have given up on pants with zippers and buttons and now favor elastic waistbands almost exclusively- jeans included. Comfort over style every day. I’ve played more games with my family this past year than I have in the entire 16 years prior. We’re a game family now. I am learning to sit with imperfection and failure and discomfort rather than trying to “fix” things. Sometimes the healthiest thing to do is embrace the inevitable grief of life. There is peace in that. My rogue, white chin hair and elastic waistbands remind me that the last time I was relevant, Clinton was President, but I will still “throw it back” in a room full of teenagers if it makes them laugh (at me, not with me- I get it). When Dave asked me what I wanted for my birthday, I couldn’t think of a single thing. Not one. This year, for maybe the first time in my life, I really feel like everything I need I already ...

  It is that time of year, between Christmas and New Year’s Eve, when I sit with both my old and a brand new calendar transcribing the regularly scheduled meetings and events from the old onto the new. It has been difficult during 2020, as so many meetings and events got cancelled or moved from in person to online, some with a change of day or time that the calendar didn’t always keep up. So full of line throughs, and cross outs and erasures and annotations, that often it was difficult to read when it was updated. While most things go in my google calendar, accessible by phone or computer, the kitchen calendar is still important, it’s where the family schedule goes. It’s where we record the important events of our lives. But how do I fill it out for 2021? Do I put down the “old” meetings days and times?  Or the pandemic shift to the meetings?  Do I fill it out in pencil? But then it’s faint against the paper and hard to read at a distance. Pen? But then it means more line...