The View From Here

What does your view from home look like?

I’m lucky.  I’m still working.   But from home.  My scrapbook room to be honest.  I’m surrounded by pictures and photo albums, books I’ve always wanted to read, a vision board to remind me of my goals and dreams, Beatles pictures, and a sign reminding me to pray about everything.

I sit in my little space.  My little safe space.  Looking out the window.  The birds are my entertainment.

I know I’m lucky.  I’m thankful.

When I first started working from home I felt like a kid in a candy store.

The first to go was the dress code.  “I can wear WHATEVER I want now!  I can work in my pj’s if I want to!”  Slippers.  Comfy clothes.   I checked email in my bath robe one day.  A towel on my head, my hair still wet from the shower.

There was this sense of freedom in the first week of being at home.

The realization that I can take break and have as much coffee as I wanted.

More time to sleep because I didn’t have to be up so early.

The commute is literally steps from the bedroom.

So I got a small thrill from working in ripped jeans and fun t-shirts, sometimes my workout shirts because of their fun and sarcastic sayings.  That lifted my spirits and put a smile on my face.

Sweatshirts.  Hair in a messy bun.  No make-up. And endless cups of coffee.

The second week I wasn’t so excited.  I was missing co-workers.  I was missing the drive to work and back.

This week is different again.  I’m starting to crave that routine I’ve been missing.  I’m getting a little bit lazier in some ways.  In others, I’m missing the structure of the regular workday.

I’m wearing real clothes.  I’m showering and “putting on my face”.

I took a drive to Sarnia this morning.  Like I would have done for work.  The feeling I got was sadness.  So much sadness.  Almost nobody on the roads. Parking lots empty.  Signs in windows and doors you know warning of closures or policy changes.

It was ominous.  I felt so much sadness.  Our world is different.

A big heartfelt thank you to all of you still in the trenches – going to work everyday. You are appreciated.

I can’t complain about working in my little room, surrounded by things I love.  My kids in the other room.  My husband downstairs.

I’m trying to find some sort of routine that works.

I started using my Happy Planner again.  Even writing down silly things to track to check off the list to feel accomplished.

Drink coffee  (check)

Shower (check)

Drink MORE coffee (check, check, check)

Whatever your days look like – whether you’re working from home, helping kids with their homework, just trying to get through the day – be kind to yourself.

Categorised in: Afternoons

This post was written by Carrie Buchanan