Remember Friday

I had booked off the day today, I was planning to celebrate the Remembrance Day 2020 that I was unable to have off. Our company takes the day in Canada but not in the US and there were critical meetings happening that I couldn’t take so I was told to take a day in lieu at some point. Since it was late in the year and deep into the most busy time for me I didn’t get the chance. Heck, I barely was able to use my allotted days off. So I said planning. I foolishly called into my usual Friday morning call and I’m glad that I did. I again skipped over breakfast, something that is becoming more habit now, which is odd for me but did fill my thermos with water. The call went well, there was a large portion devoted to a candid airing of the grievances and review of the past year. We’d lost a few members of that team during our last pass through the calendar and other aspects had been reorganized. Some folks may have been feeling a bit raw, especially since it took ten months to fill the first departure and another was a year in the making. The team is being asked to do more for the same pay in the interim and there may not be a good path to backfill some of the positions. It was a good discussion. I’m more affliated with this group than directly on the team but I found the level of engagement, openness, and transparency refreshing, so like I said, I was glad I called in. I spend the next ninety minutes or so tying up some loose ends and answering questions before going dark just ahead of noon. I put myself down for working three hours, some time donated I suppose. With the rest of my actual team taking the day and with what had gone on in the US and overall the whirlwind of the first week back I was pretty glad that I’d made the decision to take the afternoon off. It was good use of my time to take a break. I broke completely with reality and just plopped myself done on the couch with a pizza order from Pizza Pizza and didn’t move until it was bedtime. I think I got up to pee once but that was my entire afternoon. I just sought to escape reality and eat my feelings. Some would carry-over into the next morning but still. I finally took some me-time in relation to stress like they always say to. I guess I’m growing?