Office Space Again

Last month I started a new job and it’s hybrid. Some days I’m in the office, other days I’m working from home.

After two years of solely working from home, I’ve got office space again.

For those of you who don’t know me in real life, this is a big culture shift. Like many others, I took my laptop home for three weeks of work-from-home back in March 2020 and I’ve been there ever since.

Me, myself, and my two cats.

For the first few months of the pandemic my family kept me company.

But then my husband went back to his office in June 2020. My kids went back to school, at least hybrid, starting in Fall 2020.

Meanwhile, home I stayed.

I know, I know, some people LOVE working from home. And for many reasons I enjoyed it, too. There was no commute, no parking hassles, and no sharing a microwave with people who reheated curry or kimchi or other heavily scented lunches.

But I went a little crazy, too. Maybe it was too many Zoom meetings. Or too much talking to my cats. Who knows.

What I do know is that I’m thrilled to have office space again.

These are the thoughts I had as I rejoined the outside-the-home working world again:

1. Look at all the people!
2. I’m driving my car to work. Beep, beep, here I come!
3. Why does gas have to be so expensive the exact week I start commuting after two years?
4. Oh my word, I forgot about this morning radio show and how much it made laugh.
5. I don’t care if my teens say no one listens to the radio anymore.
6. Look at all the people!
7. I’m wearing work clothes again.
8. Yikes, some of my work clothes don’t fit anymore.
9. I need new work clothes.
10. I’m wearing earrings
11. …and lipstick
12. …and pants with a buttoned waist.
13. I miss my sweats.
14. Gee, the fluorescent lights in this office hurt my eyes.
15. Huh. I ate all the lunch I packed and I’m still hungry.
16. And there’s no food in this office. Just some sugar packets.
17. Woa. I’m having a face-to-face conversation with someone.
18. And I can see their whole face.
19. Weeee!
20. Look at all the people!

Of course, by the end of my first week, I started moaning (a bit) about how tired I was from working outside my house. But the very next day I got to work from home, so all was well in my world.

Bonus: I like my new job. Here’s to my next adventure in new-to-me office space as a midlife woman.

Are you back in an office? Savoring the work-from-home experience? Retired and loving it? I’d love to hear about your current adventure.