Just a Passing Phase
Today, a close friend mentioned I seemed down. I asked if that seemed unusual. They said yes.
At work, no one's noticed. Working from home makes it easy to keep things separated. I can show up for calls, focus, and help people out. But by late afternoon, the tank is empty.
Right now, I’m sitting in the library where I’ve spent the day. It’s almost 6:30, and I’m staring at the screen typing this, not quite ready to pack up and head home.
Earlier, a longtime customer called to tell me she’s retiring. She wanted to say how much she appreciated working with me and my team. In a world where it's hard to rely on people, I made the work enjoyable. I told her I was only doing my job, but she pushed back and said it was more than that. There aren’t many people like me.
Then I opened an email thanking me for teaching on Sundays over the past couple years, telling me I’m gifted at it, and hoping I'll stay on. I will, of course. I love doing it.
It feels strange to receive praise when I'm this disconnected.
I’ll give myself a couple months to let things settle and reset. I have people around who will tell me if things are more off-track than I realize. For now, I'll go with: "this is just a passing phase, one of my bad days."