June 24 is Work From Home Day, a celebration of all the things we can accomplish in our pajamas (look it up!), which if we’re being honest, we’ve been celebrating every day for more than a year.
Yet hopeful signs of a world coming back to life are showing up in weirdly happy ways – like the bumper-to-bumper traffic that almost made me cry (in a good way).
Seeing all those cars next to me on the road the other day was like saying hello to all my old friends. Hello lady putting on lipstick while driving (kinda surprised anyone still wears lipstick); bonjour guy putting on pants (ibid).
And it reminded me of all those other things I’ve been missing all these months.
The “I won the lottery” feeling of pulling into the parking lot at 9:15 just as someone was vacating the prime spot right in front of the door.
Realizing you were exactly one mile ahead of the car that broke down in the left lane of the highway during rush hour.
Being IN the two-hour backup caused by the car that broke down in the left lane during rush hour (bragging rights –amirite?).
Seeing all the new neighborhoods Waze introduced you to on the route that took 90 minutes longer than if you’d just stayed on the highway (but hey – you were moving).
Imagining all the “we’re avoiding traffic” Waze drivers were actually outrunning Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde in what surely from space looked like the world’s most epic game of Pac-Man (maybe that’s just me).
Two hours to catch up on really important news -- like the rise of Millennials’ jeans. And where they part their hair (The middle? Really?).
Being alone (shoutout to all my working-parent friends!).
Will we ever experience the joys of commuting again? Boston says traffic levels are back at 2019 levels, so maybe.
Will the novelty ebb? Most definitely.
But on this WFH Day, here’s to all the things we accomplished in our pajamas this past year – and all the reasons we now have to put on clothes.
Happy WFH day!