themillennialboomer

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.

The Coffee Klatch by Sheri LeClair Banitt

First of all, thanks to the invincible R.C., we now have a subscribe button so you can follow along with this busy Boomer.

Second, I have to tell you about the coffee shop where the web page fixing went down. It had that “fresh brewed coffee in your comfy clothes and no where else to be” smell of anticipation and relaxation. They served amazing coffee, donuts, AND they had vinyl records for sale. The same vinyl records I might have owned a few decades ago. (Caydence Records & Coffee)

It was fun to be out visiting on a sunny day over coffee and donuts. We chatted about work and family and pets. We shared stories and compared notes about all three and let R.C. work on the web page. This was an inter-generational coffee klatch at a super millennial coffee house and we enjoyed every moment. The synergy of old and new is envigorating for all.

But beyond the chit chat and coffee and sweet treats and interweb, I left with a sense of nostalgia. Memories of my last elementary school birthday party with friends and home made cake. My mom bought me the Bobby Sherman album and we sang along with goo goo eyes and loving hearts to Julie, Julie, Julie do you love me? And when my sister had her birthday and MY MOM bought her the Steppenwolf album with “Born to be Wild”.

But mostly I thought about how the modern coffee klatch takes place in the coffee shop with the wi fi and how it used to be in homes at the kitchen table. I am old enough to have enjoyed both. And while I can’t say one is better than the other, I will admit I miss the days when anyone could drop in at anytime and the coffee pot was always on. You were likely to get Folgers, or Sanka instant on a rough day. But no one worried if your hair was in curlers or the house was a mess; you were just glad to have the company.

Beginning in the Middle by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Spent a bit of time tonight trying to figure out what I had done to this website that was making it inaccessible. Who knows? Actually, who even cares? Just make it work, right? Turns out they have Support to help me with that. In just a few short minutes, the website was fixed and all is well.

So this is the world we live in. We often know what we want to do, but have no idea how to do it. If you want to know the secrets, you have to learn and study and practice your craft. Such is the world of technology.

I think it is confusing to an old beginner like me because I don’t want to start at the beginning. I want to start my blogging journey at the end, with the professional bloggers. I want to produce the finished product without taking the time to know the ingredients. Adult learners do not have the patience of young learners. Millennial techies played with computers, internet, smart phones and such the way Boomers played cards, board games, and neighborhood outdoor games. Young people know technology and old people know people.

Many young people seem to have anxiety and discomfort in social situations and being with people. I think it’s because they are trying to start at the end, where everything is figured out and it all works the way they imagine it should be. But relationships take time, practice, error and diligence. You have to spend time being with people and weaving your way through failure and success. What you end up learning is that the best relationships are never perfect. There is no need for perfection; just a desire for meaningful human interaction.

I am going to stop trying to approach technology at the end. I am going to embrace the unknown and learn the ingredients of a successful blog without agonizing over the mistakes along the way. But I really don’t have time to start at the beginning. This world is moving too fast for that. I am going to try beginning in the middle and asking my Millennial friends for help when I get stuck. We all need to call Support sometimes.

What’s in the noise? by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Hello folks. Thanks for your encouraging comments on my first post. In Millennial fashion, I googled ‘how people can follow my blog on Word Press’. It’s simple. Once I publish two posts, the Follow Blog Widget should appear on the bottom right corner of the screen, allowing you to follow me. Hope it works – we shall see.

Today at work, I thought about a difference in the office noise level, compared to a decade ago. I’m not talking about the heater fans, office equipment or white noise. I’m talking about the noise directly related to the people at work.

Now instead of hearing the office noises I have heard much of my career, I see the headphones and earbuds. Gone are the radios and CD players. Remember when we could play CDs in our desktops? No more team votes about which radio station to play in common areas. No spontaneous toe tapping when the greatest hit comes on, no group camaraderie when everyone knows the words to the song.

People are listening to podcasts, paid song download sites, books and other selections through laptops and mobile phones. There are still some dinosaurs like me who have an actual radio and a CD player, but the technology offered online is superior in selection and privacy.

Work is getting done, people are entertained and this is really a non-issue. Except that I can’t help but miss the old-timey noise in the office. I miss the chit chat between coworkers in cubes asking about processes and procedures. I miss the quiet laughter and exclamations as the day unfolds and things happen. I am missing the community and interaction of colleagues beyond the flat screen of the computer.

We still communicate often through computer messaging or email and we get the work done; often more efficiently than we used to. Though I am a big user of the smiley emoji, I long to see your smiling face as I tell you, “Good job”. I kind of want you to see my silly, googly eyes when I confess, “I goofed.” Those are the things that help me gauge relationships and how things are going. A careful observer could learn so much about the business and different personalities just by listening to the daily office noise.

If we want to talk to someone wearing earbuds, we have to get their attention first. This can be awkward because we don’t want to startle anyone. Do you tap them on the shoulder? Tap the desk? Invasive. Do we position ourselves in their line of vision and wait until they notice? Really hard for an extrovert to wait. Best Practice – send a message telling them you’re coming over to chat in person; rather. asking if they have a moment for an in-person visit. This works, it gets the job done. But it can leave you feeling like you’re invading someone’s privacy or that someone else is invading your privacy. Everyone knows that if you want to be left alone, you put in your earbuds.

I keep the earbuds out of my ears because I really like to hear the office noise and I like to be easily accessible. ENFJ. And what I’m hearing tells me about relationships and how things are going. Now I just have to listen more often with my eyes and plan ahead for those ‘impromptu’ face to face meetings.

Not Ready-Starting Anyway by Sheri LeClair Banitt

Here’s the blog. I need a creative outlet and I am passionate about a situation I find myself in all the time: Baby Boomer aging in a workforce that is increasingly younger and more tech oriented. Please join me as I share my take on growing skills, managing stress, and enjoying the broad age dynamic in my workplace. Bear with me as I learn to navigate the blogger world of mysterious technology needed to broadcast my message.

As one of America’s youngest Boomers, (born in 1962) I was raised in a slower time without computers and the internet, where people were more connected to each other by daily, personal interactions. I am rapidly moving into a future that feels more personal and less personal at the same time.

I hope to entertain you as I document my experiences and explore the mindset dichotomy of the Millennial and the Boomer. And I hope you’re very patient as it may take a minute to get up to speed on this blog. If I wait until I’m ready, it may not ever happen.

Here’s my ideas: