I work remotely for Red Barn. I come in here in there to check on orders and get clarification about cuts and such when I need to, but as a general rule, I work from home. Today it snowed. Not a little bit, but a lotta bit. Enough that I woke up without internet, and shortly thereafter lost power. Due to the nature of my job, I require both to do my work.
I decided that I’d better figure out what I was going to today as working from home wasn’t an option. I fired up my trusty steed and decided to stop in at the shop to see if my boss was around. What only yesterday had been a nice spring ride was now more like an adventure through Narnia. Wet heavy snow. Bent and broken trees. A thick layer of white over everything, including the roads which had yet to be plowed. Turns out my boss was there. I explained my predicament and inability to make coffee at my house. Understanding my caffeine dependency, I was permitted to venture into town. I nearly got stuck in the driveway and was thinking it might be a hopeless cause, but my trusty steed prevailed. After slipping and sliding onto the road, I was happily on my way.
I don’t know if you are familiar with Croghan, NY, but there is a very nice coffee shop there. The very nice people make very good coffee too. I bought two of them (coffees, not humans), and proceeded to make my way back to Red Barn, happily caffeinated.
It was decided that I would work from the break room since my home office was simply not going to suffice until the power came back on, and no one knows how long such a thing might take in an April snowstorm. I made myself at home in the recess area and proceeded to get working. Not long after I had begun, employees began to trickle in for their morning breaks. Then lunch rolled around. More employees.
This was fun for me because I am not accustomed to seeing people while I work. Sure, it was a bit distracting too as it’s not a very big room, but I didn’t mind. It was refreshing to see people laughing and joking about the weather, about work, and perhaps even about the sketchy commute this morning. It was nice to be reminded that I am part of a team. Local people doing local work. Providing locally-grown meat to local families and restaurants.
What started as a rather inconvenient day has turned into a pleasant reminder of why I do what I do. My brother-in-law owns this place. I got to see my nephew on his breaks- he cuts meat here. I got to meet a new employee. I got to briefly explain what I was working on to someone else. While working from home has its many perks, I miss out on everyday things like this.
Yes, it is still snowing. Yes, it is late April. No, I am not psyched about the snow. I’d rather be tanning than shoveling. It did, however, give me the opportunity to be a part of something that I otherwise wouldn’t have been though, and I am grateful for that.
Cheers!