Office park

Change of scenery
London, ON
November 2020
This photo originally shared on Instagram

Many of us lucky enough to have work these days are largely working from home. Nerdy types shorten this to WFH.

Every once in a while, though, a properly physically distanced WFA - work from anywhere - session is called for. And when the weather beckoned, I knew just the place to park myself for a couple of hours.

This is what it looked like. Po the Teletubby insisted on tagging along.

Unlike my home office, this, ah, workspace lacked extra displays, external keyboards, and a comfy office chair. There was nowhere to plug in. My Wi-Fi was my phone's hotspot, which made me look like an 8-bit Nintendo character during the one and only video meeting I dared attempt. The ergonomics were awful, and if we're being blunt, the bench got pretty uncomfortable 15 minutes in.

Yet I couldn't wipe the stupid smile from my face. I sat there in the late afternoon sun, typing away, plugged into my fave tunes, feeling more alive than I had in a while.

I smiled as quizzical strangers stared my way from a safe distance. It was glorious and strangely life-affirming. And with winter fast approaching, I doubt I'll have many more opportunities like this one.

As we ponder the darkness of an historically challenging year, I think moments like this matter more now than they might have previously. Given the advanced mobile technology we can now toss into a backpack, this kind of workspace was definitely feasible pre-lockdown. But we didn't NEED it to the degree we do now. We probably didn't appreciate that need as much, either. Didn't feel like it was anything more than a frivolous way to spend an afternoon.

These days, though, everything's different. Small things ARE the big things. Not at all frivolous. They matter more now than we might think. Yours may look different than mine, but that's beside the point. Find them, anyway.

And don't be surprised if Po asks to come with you. She promises she'll wear a mask.

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