Waste Not, Want Not, and Other Summer Wisdom by Sheri LeClair Banitt

So hot you can cook an egg on the sidewalk, but no one wants to because it’s too hot to go outside. This is day #8 with a temperature over 90 degrees in Minnesota. Most of those days were on the excessive heat warning advisory because of high temperatures and high humidity. Tonight at 6 pm, the temp is 96 with a ‘feels like’ 99. That’s pretty hot and it looks like we will not go below 90 for another ten days or so.

Two weeks ago I was covering my outdoor plants because of a frost warning and now we are sweltering in weather that we usually don’t see until July and August. Uff-da!

I am still working from home due to the pandemic and have an opportunity to impact my environment during this heat wave. I am aware of the extra energy needed to keep homes and businesses cool, so I want to do my part to limit unnecessary electricity usage. I have closed the blinds and pulled the curtains. This helps keep it cool and gives my air conditioner a break. It’s a little odd sitting in the dark and working, but then nothing has been normal throughout this pandemic, so I can roll with it.

It is hot and humid and we are in a drought. I can see my lawn turning brown. The flowers and plants are wilting. The river level is low. I am very aware of how fortunate I am to have a safe water supply at my fingertips in several rooms in my home. I don’t want to waste it so I am limiting laundry, washing dishes and bathing. We are doing what is necessary, but only washing full loads, and no bubble baths. I am watering the plants outside from the rain barrels around the house.

One of the things I have appreciated while working from home and socially distancing through the pandemic is that I have used my car very little. As a commuter, I normally add 30,000 miles each year to the odometer. This year I added about 5,000. That is less fuel used and less polution created.

I have done less shopping, bought fewer things and taken a closer look at the items in and around my home. I have made do with what I have and kept myself occupied with books, hobbies and crafts. I have spent much more time outdoors enjoying the nature around me.

So, on this hot day, I walked the dog and listened to the river and the birds and the kids playing outside. I sweated and complained and was able to commiserate with other walkers passing by. I made lemonade with fresh, clear, cold water from the tap in my comfortable, air conditioned home. I was able to work and earn a living while enjoying all of these things.

I am very fortunate to live in a wealthy country and to have a middle class lifestyle. I never want to take this for granted. I want to live joyfully and thankfully. This means I need to preserve and protect the natural resources around me so they can be shared with generations to follow.

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Everywhere. All the time.

Summer Wedding 40 Years Ago by Sheri LeClair Banitt

40 years ago on June 6th, there was a wedding in Cannon Falls. Two kids, too young to be married and too young to know it. In our rural Minnesota town, it was fairly common, especially if there were no plans for college.

I thought my dress was unique, the tuxes one of a kind. Looking back, I see that almost every wedding in 1980-1985 looked the same. Pretty nonetheless.

Here’s me, all 117 pounds of me. I was heavier than all my friends and really wished I had lost weight for the wedding. These days, women are learning to love their bodies, no matter the size.

Still married after 40 years. What is the secret to staying married? Commitment, tolerance, kindness, love. Love is an action, not a feeling. If you’re not doing something, no one is feeling anything. If you want to stay married, stay married. Don’t give up, just do love.

Coping in 2021 by Sheri LeClair Banitt

On February 7, 2020 I started The Millennial Boomer blog with optimism and glee. I was not ready, but I started anyway. I always wanted to blog and I had the free time to do it. The blog was going to highlight my experiences as a Boomer in the workplace with all the Millennials. I love my job and the people I work with and it seemed like others could relate to my world. But I wasn’t quite sure how to use Word Press or how the blog would turn out.

I had a few fun entries about the stuff I do and think about. It was fun and light hearted. And then Covid came. My employer sent me and my work team home along with over 2,000 fellow associates to keep us safe from the virus. This was a good decision and has protected us from illness and death. But it caused extra work and extra stress. Navigating the changes made it harder to get the blogging done. But I got in a rhythm and posted about my hobbies and the fun things I was doing while quarantined at home.

And then came the murder of George Floyd. This shook me deeply and changed my perspective on many things. Because I was working from home, I was more in touch with social media and saw the video on Facebook as it was happening. I was horrified to see the incident and had to stop working for the day to process all of it. I tried to move on with the blog but started to feel that I needed to make changes.

Around this time, my daughter, who follows Dr. Stacey Patton on twitter heard about a free class she was offering to help people learn how to use Word Press. I signed up for the class and was accepted. I was so excited to learn about digital media from an expert at a time when I needed guidance.

The class was fun and informative and I was surrounded by people like me who needed help navigating the digital media world. I created many fun projects that are posted on the blog. But the most valuable take away was getting to know my classmates, who were mostly people of color. I got a whole new perspective on what it means to be in America when you are white.

I learned about racial inequality in America. I started to understand things that affect me daily that I never even thought about. I learned about white privilege and how I have it, whether I know it or not. I learned how ignorance is embedded in white supremacy and how I unknowingly support it.

And once you know a thing, you cannot unknow it. That is when everything became very hard for me and the joy of blogging disappeared. I felt the weight of the pandemic and the heavier weight that the murder of George Floyd brought to public awareness.

Then came the Presidential election and the contentious discourse in the media. It was impossible to coast in safety on the sidelines. The two political parties were so opposite that you could not avoid taking a stand. I took the side of love, compassion, kindness, tolerance and charity. This made me a target for many Trump loving Republicans who see these ideologies as weaknesses instead of virtues. Many hours of conversation with friends and family, online and in person revealed thoughts, feelings and values that had been previously hidden.

When Biden/Harris won the election, there was no peace. Many Trump supporters backed his assertion that the election was stolen from him. Their anger soon brought us to the insurrection at the Capitol in January. Then came more tension, more polarity, more reasons to leave friendships and distance from family when there is no way to bridge the chasm.

With all the social unrest, I still had to manage the increased workload and challenging new processes that Covid 19 brought to the workplace.

So, the blog moved down in my priorities. I also worried about what to publish. I wondered if it was right to talk about funny, silly, frivolous things when real life was demanding such deep introspection.

After taking a break from the blog for a bit, here’s what I decided:

Life goes on during good times and bad times.

I have white privilege.

Talking about disagreements is how we gain understanding. Understanding is the first step in making changes.

Blogging is fun. I can support changes to eliminate systemic racism and this does not eliminate my right to happiness and my ability to experience and share joy.

Hope you’ll join me in my continued blogging journey.

Peace.

HR Regulations Have Improved the Work Application Process by Sheri LeClair Banitt

I work for a financial services company, supervising a customer operations team. I hire for entry level, customer service positions and frequently get first time job seekers who are straight out of college, and displaced older workers, looking for a fresh start.

I have two specialists on my team who interview with me. We have a standard set of questions designed to help us find people who will be able to do the work in our area. Our job is to find qualified, capable individuals and then give them the tools they need to succeed.

Looking through the box of ‘Old Papers From the Office’ that my grandfather had saved gave me a new perspective on why we do what we do today. He is no longer living, but I knew my grandpa to be a fair, honest, caring person. His job was important to him and I recall that he was a lifelong learner and continued to find new practices that helped the workers he represented. Watch to see how far we have advanced in privacy practices since his day.

New Me 2021 by Sheri LeClair Banitt

No make up, no glasses, just me in the winter.

The River Walk has been a repeating theme on my blog.  This is because I have been working from home since March 2020 due to the covid 19 pandemic.  I have replaced the 45-minute commute to and from work with two walks along the river instead.

The Little Cannon River Falls 12-26-2020

I’m thankful to be working from home. Even so, it’s not easy. I lead a large customer service team with a fast-paced workload and a changing daily volume of work.  In order to be successful as a team, I need to be successful as a leader. This takes extra care when working remotely. I have to understand what everyone is doing, how they’re feeling about it and make sure that everything is getting done.  The emotional work is harder when you can’t see each other in person, face to face.

I love my job and I’m good at it. I think it’s because I’ve spent a lifetime caring for and about other people. My greatest talent is generating enthusiasm and cultivating pride of accomplishment.  I lead from behind, and most people don’t even realize my input.  It’s my calling, it’s what I do, I can’t not do this.  I love having my team in the spotlight, I love seeing them succeed. And I hate being in the spotlight, though I do want to succeed.  It is the fear of judgement that keeps me in the shadows.

I’ve spent my life striving for more; always wanting to do better and be better.  I have compared myself to everyone I meet and always find myself wanting.  I’m not as smart, not as educated, don’t work for any worthy cause, haven’t suffered enough, haven’t overcome enough, don’t have as much money, not as thin, not as good-looking, don’t have as many friends. These are the thoughts that propel me to work harder, study more, do more, be more.  It’s like walking uphill and never reaching the top.

I’ve done many things, but never achieved the expert status I’ve been looking for.  There is always someone doing it better. There is always another book, another talk show, another podcast with all the secrets to being best.

The new pace of the pandemic has given me time to slow down and reflect. Looking back, I realize that while striving for something else, I have missed many wonderful things within my reach, like the River Walk. 

This path has been just outside my door for 27 years and I’ve never appreciated it.  People travel from miles away to walk the trails that pass by the meeting of the Big Cannon and the Little Cannon rivers.  There is nature and wildlife for miles within steps from my home. Since March, I have discovered the seasons in ways I haven’t seen since childhood.  I have been out walking in sunshine and rain, heat and cold, humidity and dry winds.  I have seen birds and fish and dogs with their people out enjoying the world without words, without conversation, without judgement. It’s given me time to think about the people and places I have taken for granted and never really appreciated. I wish I could go back in time and do some things over.  I would do them better, that’s for sure.

And now the world is changing.  As the airlines and internet have brought us closer, the human condition has pushed us apart.  We are mortal and subject to disease, illness and death.   For most of us, the reality of this pandemic is the first time we’ve had to face our fragility.  In order to keep others safe, we’ve had to give up some freedom.  We’re staying home, keeping apart, wearing masks to avoid sharing our breath, and thereby our germs with each other. We’re not used to depending on ourselves for schooling, food, entertainment, and worship.  In these most trying times, it is clear that we need each other to survive, even with opposing political views, lifestyles and ideology. The sudden change of routines has left many feeling isolated and vulnerable.  Some have fallen to despair and depression.

While I have moments of both, I choose to re-imagine…me.  What if I am complete?  What if I am enough? What if I stop striving and start living? This thinking has energized me in a way nothing else has. I am giving myself permission to be me.  I am going to do the things I want to do in the way I want to do them.  I don’t have to consult the experts – I am the expert. If you can do something better than me, good for you.  I will cheer you on and applaud your success; that is my calling and it gives me joy.

 But for me, I am going to enjoy myself without words, without conversation, without judgement. I am going to be me in the way only I can.  I am going to walk the seasons with the river. There will be sunshine and rain, heat and cold, humidity and dry winds. I will take my place in humanity without apology or arrogance. And it will be enough. And I will let it be.

My White Privilege by Sheri LeClair Banitt

I am reluctant to talk about the ways I experienced 2020. There were so many bad things happening. Covid 19 brought so many changes and challenges. We had a contentious election with a President who brought out the worst in everyone.

And then George Floyd was murdered in broad daylight, on the street, with a crowd watching. This rocked my world. I usually don’t talk about it because I am white and I have not suffered the injustice of racism. I don’t want to trivialize the plight of the oppressed with complaints of my feelings. But if I am going to make a difference, I need to speak.

Digital Storytelling Workshop – Take 2 with Dr. Stacey Patton and Class. By Sheri LeClair Banitt

Last spring I started themillennialboomer blog with no knowledge of how to do it. Shortly thereafter, my daughter told me about an opportunity to take a free class about Digital Storytelling with Dr. Stacey Patton through a link on Dr. Patton’s social media. I responded to the link and was fortunate to get signed up for the class. Learning to be a Digital Media Bawse was fun and empowering! I learned how to use many different digital tools and quickly realized that I need to learn more.

I love to write about whatever is happening in my world. A big part of my world is navigating the workplace as one of the seniors who are not yet ready to retire. I need to work until age 67 if I want my full social security–and I believe it will still be available. I work primarily with millennials and the differences between us add a richness to the work culture in addition to some challenges. See what Ellen DeGeneres has to say about the differences between Baby Boomers and Millennials.

So if I want to attract an audience to hear about my life and my experiences, I need some skills in addition to writing. And that is where this class comes in. I am confident that in ‘Take 2’, I will revisit what I learned last session and gain a greater understanding of how to appeal to the digital world. My goal for this second course is to create a better vlog presence. I did a couple vlog entries with the first class, but they were a bit awkward and amatuer. I can do better.

Like a Bawse!