The FM COVID Diaries: Part VIII – 11 Months in...Random Thoughts
In fewer than 30 days we will have been under COVID-19 restrictions for one full year.
With 500,000 Americans lost to the virus, the risks are still not to be taken lightly.
Over the past year, in my COVID-19 diary entries, I reported how COVID was impacting the people, places and things around me but never shared or reflected on how this mess has impacted me personally.
As the 365-day mark approaches, I wanted to share a more personal experiences. In this diary entry, I’ll be sharing a bit about how COVID has impacted my family, my career and my state of mind. These are tough times, and I am hopeful that sharing my perspective here helps others keep a positive outlook. I find it beneficial to share my thoughts, with refreshing honesty and a dose of reality.
Last month, I shared the struggles we face at our local school district. Because my children are both in high school, we are constantly navigating the challenges of hybrid and remote learning. My freshman has enjoyed the hybrid model. The opportunity to go back to school and see the rest of the community has made the experience manageable.
Our junior, at first, welcomed the virtual experience. As an even-keeled teenager, he was well suited for the transition. Unfortunately his group was not able to move to a hybrid model and remained 100-percent remote. After this much time, even he is ready to go back to school and actively complaining about it. I share this because, if he is complaining about not being able to go back, you can only imagine the impact this issue is having on students across the country.
Locally, in our hometown, many small businesses and restaurants continue to struggle to stay open. Our small-town movie theater and a grocery in the center of town were forced to shutter their doors. The impact of COVID has certainly been felt in our community. These are the comfort centers of our community falling victim to COVID and COVID policies.
My work experience has remained much the same as I have shared here in the past. I am still traveling into our NYC headquarters, which has been open since September. On average, I make the commute three times a week. There has been a small uptick in NYC vibrancy, with more people returning at work, but at a very slow trickle. The City That Never Sleeps sure seems to still be in a slumber, having that mid-1990s vibe throughout.
NYC commercial real estate remains in a tailspin, confirmed to me by some broker colleagues. Predictably, a lot of space continues to become available as NYC companies assess their space needs. Brokers continue to sift through all this open space, seeking opportunities: a unique situation on many fronts that will be interesting to see how it pans out.
I personally have mixed feelings about the state of schools, our communities and the world of real estate. I do not blame companies for remaining closed if their employees can work remotely. I do not blame the same companies for giving up commercial space they no longer need. I do not blame teachers for not wanting to return to unsafe working conditions. And, of course, I do not blame parents for demanding a resolution from school administrations.
But I also cannot help having many, many questions and few answers, so many contradictions and inconsistencies that can certainly send my pragmatic mind into a tailspin. As previously written, I have traveled to seven states in the last 11 months with no issues. Mask on, washed hands per CDC recommendations. But on a plane, in close proximity to others, we can take that mask off to eat?
At the same time, we watch the contradictions of professional sports like soccer and basketball. When watching the Premier League (go, Man City!) or ACC/Big East Basketball (go, Orange/Seton Hall!!), we allow our favorite teams to play in empty stadiums, despite the proven effectiveness of masks. Could fans be kept away from the playing field so that the players could keep their masks off? Couldn’t we let fans in at limited capacity? (Since writing this article, NY and NJ have reopened their stadiums at limited capacity.)
So back to positivity…long live the PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)! I have always considered myself very lucky and grateful this past year, still employed and even taking a new job in the middle of all this uncertainty. My wife remains employed too. My boys are overall in good health and spirits and getting some sort of education. The family is even getting along, spending so much more time together with minimal arguments and no punches thrown. We even took some vacations together, which others found oddly funny (and I must also agree in hindsight). Even in other areas, like my band’s for example, we were able to release a lot of music in 2020, both on Bandcamp and digital streaming, despite the lockdowns.
In some ways, life became more simple, less stressful and even less expensive as a result of this global pandemic, but I only recently began to notice that perhaps it was really negatively impacting me a lot more than I thought or would admit to. I am resilient and can roll with the punches more than most, but I also found myself unnecessarily irritable, grumpy, stressed and even bored at times while also not feeling like doing anything. A typical social butterfly, I experienced periods of noticeable anti-social behavior rearing their ugly head. It’s a big surprise that more of us didn’t buy a Wilson volleyball off of Amazon and paint a face on it.
It’s clear that this constant state of limbo we have been in for the last year can have many types of impacts, but as an eternal optimist, I know we are going to get through this one day, which will only make us stronger in the end.
Long live the PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)!
Paul Haley, CFM, FMP, Facilities Manager at EHE Health, Professional Development Committee Member/ CFM Certified Instructor Candidate, Communications Committee Member
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