It’s 340 am and I cannot sleep. I get up and make some cappuccino and burnt toast with butter. The beverage is lame and has a weird aftertaste. It gets pitched and I start a pot of real coffee. If I am going to be up this early I will need it for sure. My house is quiet, the constant hum of the air conditioner and air purifier as they battle for control of our air is accompanied by the hum of the ice maker followed by the occasional dropping of newly formed cubes into the bin. My dogs are laying at my feet vying for domain. The younger one growls occasionally just to keep the older one in check. Women are like that. In the bedroom is my guy who just came to bed about the time I got up. Our shifts work fine and we each get a whole bed for a good part of our sleeping hours. The patrol cars pass by every 15 minutes ( I live across from a prison..yes really) and the lights keep me company like a silent sentry.
A wise person told me this early morning that time has lost all meaning. A truer statement could not be said. As we muddle through every day since March 17, 2020 (for this house anyway) we have lost the sense of time. My life used to have order and routine. I am not all about the routine but I have come to understand that I need some level of it, to keep me motoring along.
I used to work 5 days a week in the same location. Now I work 2 days a week in one location and 3 days from my home. don’t get me wrong it is a routine in itself. It’s just a new one. I had to create it, to survive and thrive.
I used to get up @ 600 am and get ready for work, take out the dogs, drink a cup of coffee and head out the door. Now, I still wake up at 6, sometimes later as the commute to the office/extra room is not as far and that allows me a more leisurely morning. I try to actually shower and dress for work everyday, not always successful but it’s a goal. I find when I do the whole routine my mind is in a better place. I let the dogs out around 730 (they like routine as well) and then I log on to my work computer at 8am daily. And that is where any similarities of the two different work routines blur and separate.
My desk is now mobile like a moving feast..I cannot sit in one spot all day long, so the computer moves into the kitchen, the living room, sometimes outside or in the basement. My work can be done from all locations. I take Zoom meetings in the office space to provide a consistent visual behind me as I silently compare the office setups of all those I am meeting with.. yes that is where I am at currently, Zoom room status. I will say I have definitely upped my game since March. My first Zoom meeting was in the basement, it made me laugh as the exposed rafters of the unfinished basement loomed in my background with a single bare bulb for illumination, as if I was on the set of GOT ( Now that’s a term I would have NEVER used before quarantine) or possibly a medieval torture chamber. But.. you work with what you have and that is what I had..
Now, I actually have a dedicated space, a new chair, an antique desk and a bamboo chair roller pad thingy. It’s great. Thank you Marc.
So now life is a mix of uncertainty, work hours are no longer 8-5, sleeping hours are rarely 10-6, more likely 10-2, up for an hour then back to sleep from 3-6 (on a good night), grocery shopping hours are uncertain, school hours are uncertain in form and function. And through it all we go with it, we acclimate and adjust because we have no choice. we are not in control of this world and 2020 is a fast changing monster.
This loss of time feels as if we are in a tunnel looking for light at the end….constantly. And even if tomorrow we could turn back the clock to the days before March 17, 2020 it would be difficult as well because now we have acclimated. so it may be difficult to go the other direction, even if we had the latitude to do so. The world is constantly changing and 2020 has been a runaway freight train. 2020 stole our time, our life, our livelihood, our health, our loved ones, our freedom and for some our purpose. And it’s still got 3 months left in this reign of terror.
But we being the resilient creatures we are took back our time and redefined it, slowed our lives and enjoyed simple things more, worked on our health (have you seen how many people are outside exercising?) created new livelihoods from home, found new purpose, cherished our loved ones more than ever and came to understand our freedom as the right to speak out, stand up and get into good trouble.
The times we are living in could possibly be one the most creative periods in our lifetime. I believe that we are constantly innovating and discovering new methods to continue our lives. We are inventing new products to help each other, we are creating new ways to learn, new ways to cure, new ways to connect and even new ways to love.
All because we Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.
Until Next Time,
Jeany
Eclectic Energy 