Back to work day!

"We don't do a whole lot socially yet, ... but when it comes to knowing you have a friend and a co-worker, it's pretty unique." -- Lisa Stone

Day 44 AS

Another milestone day: return to work day. I was exhausted before leaving the house, but managed to actually make it in at 8 -- my goal. Who would have thought showering, doing makeup and hair, and then dressing, could take so much out of a body? I found myself stopping to rest every 10 minutes or so -- insane. I'm definitely looking forward to getting my stamina back!!

It was lovely walking into my department's area -- the first thing I saw were some beautiful balloons (the crowning glory was a purple and pink dragonfly!) flying high above my desk. I love balloons -- nothing could have been nicer! On top of that, there was a great card and a lovely chrysanthemum plant. What a lovely group of colleagues I have -- I am most fortunate indeed!

The introvert in me had a hard time dealing with all of the attention -- a lot of people came by to welcome me back. I had psyched myself up for the once overs I suspected I'd be getting. I truly appreciated those who were direct and made no bones about it -- not so much the (very, very few) that gave me what I think they thought were subtle top to bottom glances. That being said, it was great catching up with everyone! A lot has changed in almost 7 weeks... and yet, very little at the same time.

The one thing I wasn't at all prepared for was the impact of fluorescent lighting on my eyes. Wow. About an hour after I arrived I had an awful headache that fairly quickly escalated to a blinding headache. And silly me left my liquid Tylenol at home (note to self, bring some in soon!!). At first I thought it was just my normal "I'm tired" headache, but after closing my eyes and trying to relax (which normally dissipates that in a matter of minutes), no relief. I had a couple of meetings after that, which (thank you guys!) my colleagues agreed to have in darkened conference rooms. After those, it went away. Within half an hour of being back at my desk it was back. Yikes. Another note to self -- bring in sunglasses (John suggested old-fashioned accountant's shades!) when next in the office.

One colleague had a plausible theory as to why the lighting may have been bothering me so much -- my senses of smell and taste are still hypersensitive. Perhaps my sense of sight is also?

It's great working with so many concerned, thoughtful folks... I'm going to work from home tomorrow in hopes it will be a pain-free day. Then back to the office Monday, liquid Tylenol and sunglasses in hand! Another note to self -- bring in some V8 as a back-up lunch plan in case you're coming down with a blinding headache during lunch (eating tuna salad, no matter how good it is, is not easy when you're on the border of becoming nauseous!).

A bunch of people pitched in and picked up different parts of my job while I was gone, so I'm incredibly grateful for the fact that the transition back is going to be a cinch from an actual work perspective. Everything's current, so my only catch-up need is to review where everything's at from a status perspective and to pick up the reins once again.