March 2020 – themillennialboomer

To Dress or Not by Sheri LeClair Banitt

So many of us are working from home now and most of us are talking about it. There are humorous stories of kids and pets showing up in conference calls and Zoom meetings. There are stories of too much snacking and wearing slouchy clothes. I think the most interesting thing is all the women posting about keeping up their daily routes. I’m one of them.

In order to keep order in my chaotic world, I am sticking to my regular schedule. The alarm rings at 5 and I get dressed; hair, clothes, makeup, jewelry, spritz of perfume. Then I go downstairs, press the button on the coffee pot and feed all the hungry pets. I let them out but instead of packing my lunch, I turn on the news. When the coffee is done, I have my coffee in front of the TV. I eat my breakfast at home before I start work. It is nice to have a leisurely start. When it’s time to work, I let the dogs in and give them their milk bones. They are very confused about why they don’t have to go to their kennels, but they like it

Then I sit down to my home office desk and log in to work. Work feels the same once I’m logged in. I still have work to do, decisions to make and meetings to go to. I am very focused once I start working and it doesn’t matter to me whether I am in the office or at home. I like that my home office has lots of windows and sunlight. But I don’t really miss it when I’m in the office because I’m working and when I leave work there’s the long drive home in the daylight.

So after a long week of work from home, I still feel tired and worn out. I still look forward to the weekend even though I know I’m not going anywhere new. But, I will sleep until 6 or 7 and I won’t get dressed for my coffee. I will watch the news in my jammies and I won’t put on any makeup. I’ll get dressed eventually and comb my hair. But no makeup unless I go somewhere. So now I am starting to rethink that. Why do I only feel ready when I have my makeup on?

In all my years of working, I have only gone to the office twice without make up. I don’t remember the reason, but there was something. One time everyone asked me if I was sick. The other time, people asked if I was really tired. Well, that explains why I wear my make up. But do I need to? Can I be ready for work without it? Am I mentally and physically capable of working without makeup? Seem like silly questions. But I’m now quite ready to ditch the make up yet. Not wanting to be the one on Zoom who looks sick or tired. It’s vanity. For now, I’m keeping it. I’ll let you know if/when I change my mind.

Glasses by Sheri LeClair Banitt

These are the glasses I bought in the last two years, minus one pair of prescription sunglasses. They’re all multi-focal, in the $600 – $800 range. Why so many? Because, like any good Midwestern Lutheran, I flexed a lot of money to use up by the end of the year in case I got sick and needed it. I never got sick, didn’t need any dental work and had no meds to stock up on. So I used up my flex money on the glasses. They’re all kind of the same, but each a little different. Whatever. Next time I’m going to get some that are really different.

I can get the glasses because my employer offers good medical insurance with a flexible spending option to use for items not covered by insurance. The eye exams are covered, the glasses are not. I’m fortunate to be healthy and able to use those savings on the glasses.

I’m not flashy. I don’t need that many glasses. Wouldn’t it be great if people like me who flexed too much money and just needed to use it up could actually put it to some good? What if we could donate the unused money to people who need it for their medical expenses?

Social Distancing and Memories

My how things have changed since my last post. I am working from home along with 100% of the team I supervise. This is new and it’s going well, but we miss being together in person. We knew it was coming and when we left work on our last day in the office, we packed up our desk plants and sent the team fish, Frank home with our temp worker. She will have her last day with us while we are still out of the office. So, I guess taking Frank home is in place of the usual pot luck send off. Except she doesn’t get to eat Frank! We will adjust to this new normal for as long as it needs to last. But I know that we all look forward to the day we can be in the office together again.

My husband and I are taking the Social Distancing very seriously and have self isolated. He still goes to work, but doesn’t come into contact with anyone and of course, I am working from home. We take the dogs for a walk and we have been to the local grocery store early in the morning, but no other interactions with people. We don’t want to get germs and we don’t want to spread them. During the week we keep busy with the normal work/home things. Work has been busy as we all adjust to the new restrictions and work situations, so we don’t really notice the difference on the weekdays.

We set up an evening Zoom meeting with family members just to see each others’ faces and hear each others’ voices. I think this will become more meaningful as the pandemic unfolds. I am thankful for the technology that allows this virtual socializing. When I think what it might have been like to live through the Flu Pandemic of 1918, I am thankful to be alive in this era. We have a good infrastructure that allows us to communicate often, within our circles and across the world. We are still getting mail and shipments of goods. Though it is a scary time, at least we can stay in touch with each other.

Last weekend was the second weekend we stayed completely home. We didn’t go anywhere other than taking the dogs for a walk. We did so many things at home and still seemed to have extra time on our hands. We both perused a fair amount of social media and I noticed differences in the posts of younger folks and older folks. While everyone is alternately complaining and enjoying the at home time, there seems to be a difference in how people perceive it.

People with kids are afraid to be at home with the whole family. They have probably never done this before. Boomers grew up this way. We ate home made meals together, did chores together and spent much of our social hours with our families putting puzzles together and playing board games. We may not have done these things in a while, but they are still familiar to us and we enjoy the slower pace.

The posts of my boomer friends are nostalgic. Pictures of home made meals and baked goods are trending along with images of Yahtzee and other board games. I made chocolate chip cookie bars and then realized I was not going to church or a potluck or having company. I put most of them in the freezer to avoid nibbling. Unfortunately, I found other things to nibble on. There are lots of pictures of grand kids and pets too.

So what are the younger folks posting? They’re posting the same things like food, games, pets, kids. They just approach it like it’s a novelty. It’s new for them to stay home after work and over the weekends. It’s hard for them to imagine that homes can entertain everyone.

It does kind of make me chuckle to see the mom of three kids in a 5 bedroom home with a huge backyard, computers, tablets, cable TV and a blow up bouncy house/jungle gym in her house wonder how she will ever keep these kids entertained. I wish I could show her what it was like in the 1980’s when I was home with two kids in a two bedroom apartment and no car. Somehow we kept busy without any of that stuff. She will figure it out and she will have great memories of this time.

I also love seeing all the Work From Home office set ups. Some are very professional, some are as simple as a computer on boxes next to the bed. Many come complete with pet co workers who are literally, well, pets. These co workers have no boundaries and very little office etiquette. Our dog growing up was one of the family. But he never went to work with Dad. This co worker situation is new and I like it. Though it does have it’s challenges.

So while we’re all doing the same things, some of us are recalling activities from the past and some of us are doing this stuff for the first time. Either way, we’re all making memories. No one I know is sick with Corona virus yet and all this commotion feels like an inconvenience. I hope all the social distancing really does flatten the curve of infected people. That is what we’re really needing to accomplish. I hope in the end, more people remember the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic as a time with families or time alone, reflecting on what’s important in life instead of who got sick, who had complications or died from this virus.

Stay home people – let’s stay healthy and make more memories.

Being Social at Work Boosts Health and Happiness – duh! What Should We Do When We’re All at Home? by Sheri LeClair Banit

Last Saturday and I spent the day cleaning my closet and dressers. It was a major purging event. Two thirds went to charity and the other third went in the garbage. It was a lot of work for a day off and I was feeling pretty accomplished at the end of the day. And tired. I do not love cleaning and it just made me tired. That’s when I sat down and started reading through all my social media feeds. The topic that kept coming up was about loneliness in the office and how it reduces productivity and causes absenteeism. One in particular said that while all ages are affected, Millenials and Generation- Z employees report feeling lonely at a rate of 50%. That is too many people feeling lonely. Especially when we’re all in the office together.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonwingard/2020/02/14/loneliness-is-crippling-workplace-productivity-heres-the-leadership-prescription/#4a7defa08f6f

The article reinforces the idea that humans are social beings and need the face to face interaction that is often missing from electronic communication. It recommends creating real life connections in the workplace such as community break rooms and social groups. My employer has done a great job of creating a culture of inclusion and social support.

This is one of the many reasons I love going to the office. I have a comfortable work space with colleagues close enough to talk with and tools that make remote communication possible. I can belong to any of numerous clubs and organizations. I go to Toast Masters on Thursdays and LOMA Society events when available. There is a crafters group that meets over lunch where we knit, crochet, scrap book, or whatever in our beautiful cafeteria with comfortable couches next to a faux, roaring fire in the fireplace. I work with great intensity and efficiency because I love what I do and I love where I do it.

Fast forward one week and now we have the Covid -19 National Emergency. Some of us were social distancing outside of work last week ‘just to be safe’. Now we are social distancing more and more because public places and events are shutting down. Schools are closing and workplaces are having associates work remotely from home. I am in favor of these safety precautions. I want to slow down this virus and prevent the chaos that comes with massive illness.

I am very fortunate to have a job that can be done on my computer from home and an employer with the resources and foresight to encourage it. Next week my team will be working from home to help prevent the spread of the corona virus. While I do have concerns over the economy and my retirement nest egg, my first challenge is how to manage the daily work from home routine. My team is smart, engaged and very creative so I have no doubt we will be productive while away from the office. We will work together and stay connected on our mission and progress. We can talk over email, Skype messaging and conduct meetings over Zoom for some face to face time. I feel like we’ve got it covered for our work time. But what about the rest of our time when we’re not working?

This is no time to panic and stockpile food and supplies beyond 30 days. This is the time to be smart, care about our fellow man and lessen the impact of this disease. I have seen many postings on Facebook where individuals and businesses have offered to help feed children who will not get the school lunches they depend on as well as people offering to help elderly folks and shut ins with shopping. I like this kind of thinking and hope we see more of it. Each of us should do good as we are able. This is how we help ourselves. This is how we build community. This is how we end the loneliness.

Staying Home by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Had a nice weekend in our spring like weather. Did some visiting with family, a little bit of shopping in a few different stores, washed the car. I’m pretty sure I came in contact with some germs and maybe even some sick people during these activities. This is not usually a problem, because I am healthy. I am a middle class American with okay health insurance and I get my flu shot. Normally, I wouldn’t think about who is sick around me. But today I am.

In my circle, we are having the second round of flu and many people are home from work with sick kids, or sick themselves. And this year, in addition to flu we are anticipating COVID-19. The coronavirus is here and will likely touch all of us.

This is a respiratory virus that is more severe in older people and those with underlying health issues. I am not panicking about this, but I am taking it seriously. I think we all have to be smart about this. We need to wash our hands often and stay home when we’re sick. Don’t waste resources and do what we can to stay healthy, like eating well, getting enough sleep and keeping public spaces clean.

I am fortunate to be able to work from home if the need arises. I think in my off time, I am likely to stick closer to home over the next days to see how this thing develops. I am going to hunker down and start planning my patio garden. I have a pile of books that need reading and multiple bins of yarn that need knitting or crocheting.

Some are comparing the COVID-19 outbreak to the Flu outbreak of 1918. Only time will tell if this is so. One thing we can be very thankful for in 2020 is that we have technology to help us communicate what’s going on around us and to keep us entertained at home. We have a good infrastructure in America to keep people comfortable and deliver food and supplies all over the country.

I am going to work tomorrow as usual but I will be more aware of how I interact with people and my environment. I’ll be bringing my lunch from home and looking forward to staying home in the evening to catch up on my knitting while I visit with my hubs and we pretend to teach the pets some manners.