THE NEW WORK
Welcome Back to the Office, if It’s Still There
I didn’t realize that mine wasn’t
I was set to go back to the office today. It was such an exciting morning — so exciting that I ironed my clothes last night (a blue dress shirt and actual slacks, brown belt) and laid them out for an early rise and dress. I even polished my shoes. I haven’t gone to those lengths to prep my clothes for the day in nearly a decade. But I’ve been watching a lot of The Crown recently (in fact, all rainy Sunday), so I started the week with an unusual sense of formality…and a palpable jealousy that Prince Philip has someone on-call to dress and undress him. In my small Chelsea apartment, I am my own valet.
Truth be told, I am just so incredibly sick of sweatpants, frozen video, and that weird moment you have at 2pm daily when you realize you’re still in your pajamas and you only changed your shirt so your 11am Zoom would think you have good hygiene and some sense of purpose. It’s been a year of working at my dining room table. This winter was lonely, cold, and dark — nearly hellish. I’m done. Now that I am two vax shots in, it was just time. Time to get dressed. Time to go to the office. Time to take stock of the rubble all around us and begin to put it all back together.
