I had to go into the office today, for the first time since last October. I’ve been working from home Full Time since March of 2020, but was supposed to return in October of last year to working 3 days a week. I only made it in for 2 or 3 days before I got sick again, so I went back to working from home full time and will be doing so until I return to the office, 3 days a week, starting on August 16th. However, I’ve been having issues on my work laptop, caused by a lack of software updates, so I had to go into the office this morning because the updates could not be done through my virtual desktop. Honestly I was dreading it, but it had to be done, so I went in early in hopes of getting it taken care of quickly and getting back home again lickety-split.

Best laid plans.

The IT folks discovered my laptop needed far more updating and upgrading from being off the main network for so long, so I had to stick around for most of the day while the they ran all the new and improved programs.

However, it turned out to be a very emotionally uplifting day. The folks I worked with swarmed around me all day, excited to see me after so long, showering me with attention and affection. I felt like a celebrity. One of my staff had 3 years of birthday gifts she had been holding until my return:

Honestly, I was blown away by how happy everyone was too see me. They all told me how excited they were for me to get back to the office regularly in August, and that work was just not the same without me. My co-manager said he hadn’t heard a single laugh in the office since I had been gone, it was great to hear it again, and that they needed my humor back. And everyone expressed how worried they’d been about me and how relieved they were that I was looking so healthy again. (Last time I was in the office I was sickly thin and pale and quite weak.) There was so much laughter and smiling all day, it felt like a party. Obviously, and unexpectedly, my visit was very disruptive, and I imagine not a lot of work got done today, but I’ was (and am) flabbergasted by the greeting and warm welcome I got. I seriously never realized or suspected my staff and peers thought so highly of me or liked me so much. It was humbling and touching and I had to hold back tears at one point.

Or maybe its just a case of “absence makes the heart grow fonder”….