A usual lunch time for me is eating the breakfast I didn’t have time to consume earlier and decompressing so I can be ready to tackle my afternoon assignments. Today, I drove to the office for the first time in months.

I parked on the side of the building in the press zone. It was near a door where a line of people were waiting for a show taping. I fumbled through my wallet, dug out my id and entered the lobby. For a moment, I wondered if my id would work in the entrance kiosk.  

When I got over that hurdle, I headed to the 10th floor. I followed the signs to the cafeteria. Upon stepping in I saw my boss, affectionately known as my birthday twin. We exchanged hugs, birthday greetings and he read my Christmas sweater. After exchanging pleasantries, I headed over to the “lunch table.” The familiar faces of people I used to break bread with every day were there and at least one new one.

Seconds later came the dreaded question, “is this a sign that you are coming back in?”

“I hope not,” I responded. My throbbing foot, irritated lower back, dry eyes, gastritis were invisible from the view of my co-workers. But, those issues and the chaos of the commute there reminded me how much better I am physically and mentally at home.

“I came to deliver a secret santa gift,” I responded as I passed the present to my friend. I spent the rest of the lunch hour with them chatting about work.

As I headed back through the lobby to start the journey home, I saw a security guard and extended my condolences on the passing of his wife. Then, I exited and made my way through traffic home.

After briefly reconnecting with co-workers, I was grateful I took the opportunity to share the message on my sweater for day 12 of my sweater countdown. “If don’t see you, have a Merry Christmas.” 

#happyholidays #christmassweatercountdown #secretsanta #invisibleillness #neuropathy #autoimmunedisease #workfromhome