Back To Work

Our return to work dates have been set – and what seemed like a long time away when we did it, is now just around the corner. As we stare at another marker on the ‘return to life’ spectrum, the nervousness and anxiety are starting to set in a little.

I will return to work starting tomorrow….but just for one day instead of the full 48 hours of the normal shift. Then I will go back next weekend for another day before returning full time and full schedule in the first part of April. Ahna goes back to school on Thursday of this week for two days before their spring break sets in for two weeks. After that, it’s back to the normal grind.

We set up these schedules – in part – to allow us to ease back into working and all of the happenings that we need to be focused on there. The real test, however, is going to be being apart for the work hours and how we will be able to handle that aspect (we have been reassured by each of our employers that if/when we need to go home…that we can just go. It’s a great feeling to be so supported as we face these challenges). I think that we’ll make some extra efforts to visit each other more often that we might have done a few months ago, just to help break up the hours and to allow for some emotional relief if needed….but that’s not going to take away the moments that come and go as they please, and dealing with those will be the trick.

Ahna and I have essentially spent the past three months hand-in-hand for 24 hours a day. This might sound daunting or difficult for some people to imagine spending that much time with someone else, but there isn’t another way that either of us would have rather had it. I thought that we had a really strong and close relationship prior to this…I could never have imagined that it could have become even stronger and even closer. And that makes the thought of going back to work and being that apart for that long seem really hard. It had to happen sooner or later, but that doesn’t make it any easier. The one thing that does provide some comfort in this phase is returning to the people that we work with. They are simply amazing.