“Remoted” – Day 497 (Monday)

Fast moving Monday workdays are the best version of Monday workdays. At 8:00 I logged in to find 93 emails lying in wait, which was better than it has been in the past after a couple days off. It’s been an ongoing effort to unsubscribe from emails that were deliberately subscribed to in a naïve belief I would have time to read yet another marketing newsletter and those that managed to worm their way around the spam filters and into the inbox because there is some loose connection to the ones I did subscribe to. Then there are the dozens of weekly cold call sales letters which are becoming more casual with greetings like “Hey Tammy!” Ummm, no thanks. Finally, then there are the legitimate emails for actual work projects and communications. It took about an hour to blow through the emails and delete the sales letters and the newsletters I will never get to so I could focus on those with project info.

Lots of people are on vacation, so things were on the quiet side. The absence of meetings and extra calls and questions allowed for periods of dedicated focus on the tasks at hand, which happens so rarely it feels like a luxury. I know better than to get used to it. Being able to complete entire tasks made the day fly. Of course there were computer issues, and I got locked out of the file moving program halfway through loading files to send a vendor. Technical help was sought and received and both access and calm were restored.

Moose in his bed.

Throughout the day and all of the night, the doggies were nestled all snug in their beds. This is how they roll these days. Winston has a method of molesting and scrunching up his bed to form more of a cozy cocoon. Moosie sleeps more and more each day, usually with his head hanging over the edge of his bed, or directly under the desk or behind the chair so I am essentially a prisoner in my office. Moose has had ongoing trouble with his hips that could be arthritis so stairs are a problem for him. He’s finally gotten used to the folded taco bed magic carpet at bedtime and cooperates with the plan instead of fighting me. I am his personal affordable stair lift, indoors and out. 

Winston's customized bed scrunch.

Other than work, not much else happened, but for someone with not a lot going on it is to be expected. It was Monday trash and recycle day. The weather was nice, and according to the home temperature patterns observed over the past many months, around 6:00 pm it was suddenly too hot and time to turn on the A/C. While growing up, we never had A/C, or even ceiling fans, and clearly, we didn’t expire from it, but I can’t remember what life was like without either one. It’s sort of the same thing with the dogs. I can’t remember what life was like without them, but knowing they are both old and have health issues and that Moose, especially, is on borrowed time, at least I have the opportunity to savor every moment  and also try and mentally prepare for what life will look like without them.