Jenni Chase

Jenni Chase

Jenni Chase wasn’t born in Texas, but as the saying goes, she got there as fast as she could. Her 30-year radio career began in college at Texas A&M...Full Bio

 

It's my last day of working from home - thoughts...

When the pandemic hit in March last year, and our crew was told we'd be broadcasting from home "for awhile"...my first thought was...how is THAT possible? Sure enough, we were given "remote kits" that allowed us to turn any room in our house into a studio...all we needed was an internet connection. I went into my boss's office and asked her....best guess - how long did she think we'd be doing this? Her reply was to plan on it for a "few months".

Here...my hastily-designed home studio in what normally is just our computer/my makeup room...blankets on the walls and a box with foam around my mic for soundproofing:

Well, here we are...FIFTEEN months later...a tragic 15 months...I don't need to rehash everything we've been through - but I must extend my deepest condolences to anyone who lost a loved one to COVID...I'm so very, very sorry. SO sorry. And as much as I find it hard to believe, life IS getting "back to normal". And with that comes a return to the workplace for many of us.

Today is my final day of teleworking (I'm off the rest of this week) and come Monday morning, I'll be getting up earlier, putting on actual clothes that are acceptable for our office, getting in my car and commuting again to our building in Rockville.

And I feel...a lot...of things.

On one hand, I'm looking forward to getting back to my old routine. I'm excited to see my coworkers again...to hug them and catch up. To NOT have to worry about the technical problems that have popped up while WFH. To NOT wander every 30 minutes into the kitchen, looking for something to eat (I NEVER did that when we were in the office). To just...go about life like we used to.

But I'm also gonna miss not spending money on gas...not being able to take a break from work when I'm having a bad day and go snuggle with my dogs for some stress relief...not spending as much time with my hubby.

(Oh, and having to wear a bra again? Ugh.

Sorry, a little levity is how I've kept sane.)

These are all extremely trivial things, I know. But I'm just not 100% sure where my head is at. Because, mentally, the past year has been a challenge, even for people like me who don't suffer from depression. I feel so bad for my friends who live alone and for the utter isolation they went through.

I'm emotional and sad, for all the loss our world has experienced. I'm anxious and nervous and overwhelmed and...well, no need to go on.

Just putting this all out there in case you are feeling the same about the end of WFH. Feel free to reach out if you need an ear.

It actually still seems surreal to me that it came to this and that we endured this. On many days, I felt that it had to all be a bad dream. I guess I'll have quite the story to share with my grandkids someday. "Hey, y'all...lemme tell ya about the time your grandpa and I lived through a global pandemic".

In closing, I'd like to say...to all the doctors and nurses and scientists, the essential workers, the first responders, folks in the service industry, airline workers, entertainment and sporting venue staff, the teachers, students, and parents, and anyone else I'm forgetting...I pray for you and am just so, so sorry for everything you've been through. Here's to better days ahead.

God bless.


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