Kid and Caboodle

Despite a number of aggravating events that happened today that I won’t detail, there are a number of things for which I am thankful this Thursday:

• I am thankful I didn’t have to go out in the cold most of the day since I worked from home.
• I am thankful for the opportunity to do some professional writing every week even though I frequently wrestle with writer’s block/self-censorship.
• I am thankful for the abundant food supply I have in the house. (I think I enjoyed too much of it today!)
• I am thankful I know a good handyman who can fix anything from stuck drawers to clogged gutters to leaky roofs. He’ll be coming over tomorrow to fix the gutters that broke during our recent snowstorm.
• I am thankful for good friends, old and new. I intend to get together with several of them in a few weeks.
• I am thankful the weekend is almost here!

This Thursday, Christmas Eve, I am thankful for my family and this wonderful time of year. Happy holidays to all.

Mike, Dee, A.J. and Chris playing Blokus Trigon

A.J.'s offering for Santa and his reindeer

I am fortunate to have access to really good health care in my area. This afternoon, for example, I took A.J. to the dentist to have sealants put on his permanent molars. These sealants are basically bits of plastic injected into the pits and cracks of his teeth so bacteria can’t grow in them and cause cavities. They used to be an expensive luxury, but nowadays they are becoming routine.

A.J.’s dentist is a pediatric dentist, not a standard one. Her office not only has all sorts of toys and children’s books in the waiting room, but it does its best to make the appointments comfortable and almost fun for the kids. For example, the children get to wear sunglasses to shield their eyes when being examined under high-powered lights. The toothpaste the staff uses during cleanings comes in flavors like cotton candy, grape, watermelon and bubble gum, and so do the dental floss and fluoride treatments. Kids without cavities win little prizes like tops, plastic bracelets, rubber balls, and the sorts of things in vending machines they always seem to love.

How I wish A.J.’s dentist took grownups as patients!

I am really glad I work for a supervisor who allows me to work from home regularly once a week. I find I am often more productive on my telecommuting days than on the days I am in the office because I am not distracted by people constantly stopping by my desk with questions. This ability to work without interruptions is especially important when I am trying to write my weekly blog entry for work. I also can end my day later than usual if the office needs me because I don’t have to rush out the door to pick up my son from school, and I can start my day earlier when needed. Recently, for example, I began my work day at 4:30 a.m. to cover a news event.

Telecommuting not only saves me time (my daily one-way commute is over an hour), but it also saves me money because I don’t have to pay the cost of parking and the round-trip subway fare. It is also good for the environment because I don’t have to burn gas driving to and from the subway station. It’s a win-win situation, in my opinion!

I have heard people scoff at the idea of telecommuting, asking how one can measure employees’ productivity. To these people I say, “How does one normally measure productivity?” It is not how many hours I am sitting in my cubicle that makes me productive; it is how many projects I complete within a given time period. If you look at all the things I process every day — articles, podcasts, photo galleries, videos, Web pages, solutions to technical problems, etc. — you know I’m working. I am a professional; I don’t need someone standing over my desk to ensure that I am doing my job. If I were goofing off, you would know it because the number of things I process would drop.

I’m thankful that some people — if not all — understand this.

Last night I read an essay by David Hochman in which he describes his efforts to stop his “reflexive complaining” and instead find something — no matter how small — for which to be thankful every day for a month. I tried a 30-day “Think Positive” experiment like this about a year and a half ago; perhaps it’s time to take up the habit again. Rather than trying to write every day, though, I think I will just write once a week.

On this first “Thankful Thursday,” I have many, many things that are going well in my life. I have a great family and fantastic friends. Everyone in my immediate family is in good health; my parents, who are in their 70s, are on a trip spanning East Asia and Latin America right now. I have a job I know how to do well that pays me a lot of money and provides great health insurance, gobs of vacation time and sick leave, and intellectual stimulation. Four days a week I work in a sunny corner of the office building that, due to its location, gives me a measure of privacy despite being a cubicle. On Thursdays I get to work from the comfort of my home.

Today, specifically, I am thankful that my sister-in-law has volunteered to host our family for Thanksgiving, thus providing us with a great meal without my having to clean the house or cook anything! (I am bringing homemade chocolate chip-banana bread, though.)

Thanksgiving Dinner 2009: white meat turkey, broccoli salad, green beans, corn pudding, carrot salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce, dark meat turkey, ham, deviled eggs