covid-19 – themillennialboomer

When Harri Went Missing by Sheri LeClair Banitt

I’ve taken a long hiatus from the blog, because I have struggled with the many changes Covid 19 has brought to the world and to my life. Now, the loss of my dear cat, Harri, has pulled me out of my apathy to tell her story.

I have been feeding a local cat colony for many years. Each spring the mommas have kittens. We catch the kittens and find them homes before the mommas carry them off to the wild. Three years ago, a little orange kitten was caught. We fell in love with him right away. He was a rascally ginger, and we named him Harry after another rascally ginger across the pond. He fit into our family with ease, managing to capture the hearts of my husband and I, along with our other cats and dogs. He became our house cat extraordinaire and chief entertainer.

When Harry was old enough, we took him to the vet for his neutering surgery. They called me before the procedure to inform me that Harry was not a male cat, he was a female. She already loved her name, so we kept it. And that is how Harry became Harri.

For three years Harri snuggled, loved, and entertained us. From the beginning of the Covid 19 pandemic quarantine and working from home, she was always in my lap or very close by. She helped me cope with the changes and stresses surrounding the pandemic including the isolation and sometimes boredom of spending my days home alone.

On Christmas Eve 2021, we were excited to have our family over to celebrate as we had missed so many holiday celebrations in 2020. In the excitement and activity of fifteen guests and dinner on the stove, somehow Harri went missing. Our cats are fed by our back door and they often hang out there at mealtime. We think an unsuspecting guest opened the door for a breath of fresh air and she slipped out.

I was not aware that Harri was missing until late in the day and looking back to the last time we had seen her, six or seven hours had gone by. It is very bad for a housecat with no outdoor skills and no acclimation to the weather to be out on a winter day in Minnesota. We looked for her and called but there was no trace of her. The next days were cold, windy, snowy, and below zero. It is hard to imagine she could survive. Nonetheless, I posted her missing information on all the local sites I could think of.

It is now thirty days later and Harri has not been found. I miss her greatly each day. And I have learned, again, that I am not in control. Some things just happen because we don’t expect or prepare for them. Cats will run out the door without considering the consequences. A hostess in the middle of a gathering does not have the cat whereabouts on the top of mind. Cats are animals, and Harri did have a full belly, long fur coat and claws intact when she slipped outside. There is a chance she found a warm place to hunker down or perhaps a kindly person took her in.

People have reacted to my search for Harri with compassion and kindness that I have not experienced in a long time. Folks who might disagree on politics and public health policy are uniting with me to search for Harri. So many are praying for her safe return to me and looking for her with me. There have been four false alarms. Either the cat was spotted and not captured, or the captured cat was a male and not Harri.

I know there is much suffering in the world and many human tragedies that put a missing cat into a different perspective. I don’t know if Harri will ever come home. I hope she does as I truly miss her companionship. If she doesn’t, I will be sad and regretful that I was not more attentive to her on that day. I will also remember how my loss inspired many covid weary and politically suspicious people to put aside their differences and personal hardships to help a heartbroken woman search for her beloved pet. This is humanity.

Plastic Bag to Plastic Bag by Sheri LeClair Banitt

So, I am seriously concerned about our water creatures and how they are managing the massive amounts of plastic in our waterways. I think often about the dolphins and sea turtles and fish and birds who encounter plastic bags that end up in the ocean. I know they suffer from ingesting the plastic and from getting tangled up in them as they try to escape handles that won’t let go.

This is why I started using reusable cloth shopping bags more than 11 years ago. My friends and family know that I keep a stash of bags in my trunk, in my basement, in my closets and at work so I can easily, always, bring my own reusable bag. I hate plastic bags; I don’t want them. I will carry my groceries out in my arms before I will take a plastic bag.

But now, in the face of the Coronavirus, I am faced with a new, old dilemma. The problem of the plastic bag has invaded my consciousness again. To avoid spreading germs, stores will not allow personal cloth bags inside anymore. Shoot. I am only shopping once every two weeks, on payday. I have to wear a mask and practice social distancing when I go. And, to avoid extra time at the register, I am passively accepting the plastic bags the store gives out.

Oh how it bothers me to come home with so much waste, and dangerous waste at that. I just can’t bear the thought of the dolphins eating my bags and the turtles wrapped up in my bags just for my convenience.

I can’t throw these bags away and that’s it. I can’t. I won’t. So, I do what any good trouble shooter will do when faced with an undesireable situation. I find a way to keep the bags, and implement the KonMari method. Keeping the bags will bring me joy, but not if they are in a messy stash. So I think, think, think, until I know what to do. I can combine this mess with the newfound boredom of the quarantine and make something new and useful.

I have spent considerable time cutting the bags into strips, rolling them into balls and now I am crocheting them into reusable shopping bags! I may not be able to bring them into the stores until the CDC deems it safe, but until then I can fill them with all the things I need to carry around the house.

From throwaway shopping bag to reusable shopping bag, I’m just making the best of a covid situation.

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.