Pandemic

Hard to go through something like this and not write about it. From high national drama, personal and professional impact not much else in my life has ever changed everything around me in such a short time. Today’s post won’t focus on all the negatives but rather on what I’ve learned in the past 14 days or so …

First a little background. I got back to work after 2 days off from some minor surgery to find the Coporate office a beeehive of activty surrounding planning and mitigating the impact of COVID-19. I then learned I was (in absentia) elected to to join the Senior Leadership team to help run the response plans for our company. I was, of course, happy to help but already a bit behind the team of 10 folks that had been working on this for 3-5 days ahead of me. Over the weekend I caught up and during the next few days assisted our team in game planning how to pull 98% of our staff out of the corporate faciities across the country to a “work from home” environment. We pulled it off due in no small part to our excellent IT team and within 48 hours of emptying the offices, we were working off-site and doing it well.

As we exited the building and began our new work lives at home, my role shifted to a steady stream of conference calls (4-6 per day and an hour or two long each) and long days spent documenting, questioning, suggesting and planning. I would send a daily Executive Briefing every evening and attend the calls that the material was created from. I have a large number of direct report Team Members and my responsibility to them did not wane. It has been a challenging balancing act to do both – especially as this first 2 weeks has been 7 days per week and almost non-stop action. If you are in an essential business like I am, you know what I mean. If you are not you probably have no idea what it’s like (and I hope you don’t need to!)

As I write this, the pace has slowed – not much but some. By now, we have documented and shared many of the new policies and procedures our team members will be need as we move through this crisis. Most of us think that the pace will change (increase again) as the number of cases grows (at about 120,000 in the US right now). But while we are planning for the worst, we pray for the absolute best.

Tonight is Saturday. I have to look it up. The days have all blended together. Even time is difficult to keep track of. Thankfully, the owner of our company is a fantastic leader. Our call with the Senior Leaders this morning started and ended with words of wisdom from him to each of us: This may not be over as fast as all of us would like so … take care of yourself, take care of your families. Get enough rest, eat well and work out. He instituted a “blackout” time period when no one should schedule calls (5-7pm each evening) so dinner, family time and exercise could happen without interruption. He understands the demands and also knows we can’t help our company if we are worn out.

So … I’ve got some time. This Saturday evening I can take a break – think a little, write a little. Heck the CEO told me to. I thought I’d capture what I’ve learned the first 2 weeks working from home in the middle of what appears to be the largest worldwide threat since I’ve been here on earth – COVID-19

Here’s my laundry list

• Let me start with … I’m grateful, and thankful
  • I have a home, plenty of food and I’m still working. So many others are not working and it’s through no choice of their own
• When I retire, I think it will be “OK” here at home.
  • I like the routine here each day. Up and shower, dress, coffee, a bite to eat and on the laptop for my early call with the response team. I don’t mind the “goundhog dayishness” of it at all.
• I love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, every day
  • Tami makes me one for lunch. The same way, the same bread. I’ll not complain one bit. I’m thankful for her to make it and thankful that I’ve got something to eat
• My wife and I are getting along better than ever
  • My patience sucks. Pressures of work and the ranch can lead me to be too short with my wife. I’m much less so now. I like me better this way – I think she does too
• The dogs are getting clingier than they have ever been (I love dogs)
  • We are around them 24/7, they are liking it a little too much and so am I for some reason
• It’s hard not to be able to hug the people you love
  • My daughter lives 200 feet away from us on a smaller house on our ranch property. She tries not to spend too much time here because her fiance has regular contact with the outside world. I miss them being over here on a regular basis
• It hurts to hear loneliness in your Mom’s voice
  • Mom is in NY – the epicenter. Thankfully she is just inside the Adirondack Park where the population is sparse. She lost my Dad 18 months ago and was just building her new life of new friends that she now can’t go see – ugh.
• Some politicians are showing us why politicians are not liked
  • I won’t name them but those that are not focused on getting this country back on its feet again range from petty to downright disgusting. Hope they pay by getting “un-elected”
• When we HAVE to do something – somehow we get it done
  • I’ve had to re-wire my pump house and run deep electrical diagnostics on a pinball machine. All because there is no one around to come help right now – learn, then do is my motto. Looks like we are living that lesson with ventilators as well.
• I’m being much more careful working around farm equipment
  • I can not even imagine being pregnant, or having a chronic condition that required hospitalization right now. Staying OUT of the hospital seems the best approach at the moment
• Nature is even more important to me than I thought
  • Tami and I have been taking way more walks than in the past – and we liked to walk. Being in the woods melts away stresses of the day
• Prepping (I am/do) is no longer considered fringe
  • I’ve been prepping for years. When this hit, we were ready. Beans, bullets and band-aids and more were already packed away for just this kind of rainy day. We don’t look so crazy now
• I appreciate small favors in a big way
  • With my pre-existing heart condition, I really should not leave our ranch property. As such, my daughter has been a saint in picking up my prescriptions, ranch supplies, etc. It’s an extra burden for her – even a pain sometimes but she’s doing it without complaint
• Have the best tools for working at home or suffer accordingly
  • When it hit the fan, I began to think what working from home would be like. I needed a good set of wireless ear buds. Ones that worked not just for music or “taking” a call but ones where the person on the other end could hear you. Apple Air Pods Pro won the day and I ordered them just ahead of the wave that had them out of stock on Amazon for days afterward
• More than ever I need to inject creativity into my job
  • I’ve got to build, fix, write, create or I will explode. I’m finding ways to do it in my work and thankfully, have this blog
• I’ve never worried about getting sick, now I do
  • I didn’t even worry when I was scheduled for quadruple bypass. I AM worried now. I see the news reports. I know my age and health history. I’m not scared or hysterical about it – I’m just structuring my life to ensure I stay virus free
• Playing pinball is fun, playing alone for days on end sucks
  • I’m an introvert and even I’ve had enough at this point
• The office we built into our new home for “occasional” use is not perfect
  • Ugh. I could share the whole drama surrounding how the cabinet company didn’t have a clue what they were doing but … I’ll leave it at this – as I type this I’m sitting in an elevated drafting chair because the workstations they designed were “kitchen” height, not office chair height
• Humor is important to me and it has vaulted way up the list
  • We did an “outdoor” movie last night to maintain social distancing with my daughter and her fiance. We all insisted on a comedy – It was Robin Williams in the classic “RV”. Wet-your-pants-stupid type of funny. We needed it bad