The flow of information and the rate at which decisions have to be made in the face of COVID-19 can certainly be seen as arriving at an unbelievable pace. As decisions are made and communicated, new information comes in rendering the last decision almost out of touch. When I was in the military we would refer to this as being “OBE,” Overcome by Events.
Today we learned that in order to comply with the most recent public health order of the Governor of New Mexico, many of us that can, will be allowed to work from home. For me personally this is like a return to days gone by. I have been a remote worker for many years. For a long time my office was the living room or the kitchen table. For several years I camped out at a local Panera or Starbucks. I would tell my clients, I have a corner office, a lobby, a fully staffed dining area to meet all of your culinary needs, and I have branches located all over the country, in fact I have one with just a few miles of your place of business.
So starting today, I am back to working from the dining room table. It feels comfortable. From January 2018 – May 2018, Sandra and I both worked from the house in Colorado Springs. We were parked at an RV park just outside of Manitou Springs and had a great view of Pikes Peak from our window. We were both looking for work and I was doing some freelance work for a clients in North Carolina, Florida, Colorado, and Wyoming. The biggest difference between then and now is now Sandra is working away from the house and I am here alone. It is very quiet without her here. Don’t get me wrong she is not loud, just not present.
How will working from home go? I have no doubt it will go well. I miss seeing my coworkers and others. I miss interacting with visitors at the Museum and I miss doing tours of the Villa and learning about where others are from. This to shall pass and one day, hopefully soon, we will go back to life as we knew it. Or will we?