Zoom Out

I don’t have a list of the #thingsthatgivemelife today, but I do want to talk about a decision I’ve made that, I believe, is helping me preserve my sanity. As you know, I am a mega introvert. I draw energy from alone time. Every interaction I have with another person is another drain of my energy. Working retail is a challenge, even when things are normal. During the spring months, my energy reserves are depleted at the end of every day. Bates Nursery has been classified as an essential business, so we’ve remained open during the statewide mandated closures. But because of the overwhelming volume of web orders we’re receiving, we’ve reduced our shopping hours from the usual 8AM-6PM.  We’re now only open to foot traffic 4 hours a day, from noon to 4. From 8 to noon, we're busy filling orders. About half of our usual seasonal staff has decided it is too risky to work with the public right now, and understandably so. We’ve hired lots of extra people to help pull web orders, but as far as taking care of customers and plants, we are operating with a skeleton crew. I’ll use the frog analogy to explain how this affects us. A “normal” spring day is like the frog in a pot of water on the stove that is slowly heating up to a boil. The customers trickle in during the morning hours, until we realize at midday they are swarming us. With our gates opening at noon, there are cars lining the sides of the road (some having sat in line for 30 minutes) waiting to get in. We’ve hired security guards that are keeping our numbers down to 50 cars max, and only 2 people per vehicle. Even so, once those gates are open, it’s like Black Friday at Walmart. We are lobsters thrown into a pot of boiling water. A 10-hour shopping day is crammed into a 4-hour time slot, and for those four hours, the questions and customer interactions are nonstop. Most people are mindful of the social distancing concept, but several customers are oblivious to this and insist on showing me pictures on their phone. I usually have a greenhouse crew of between 5 and 8 people, depending on the day, but I’m down to 3 or 4 people now. Unfortunately, the work load is still the same, so I’m putting in 55-60 hours, 6 days a week, to keep shelves stocked and plants alive. Several of my coworkers are working even longer hours than I am to keep our little ship afloat. What is my point, you might ask? I’m telling you I AM EXHAUSTED.

With the restrictions on gatherings, organizations all over the world are looking for ways to meet, worship, or teach classes. Enter Zoom. Now it is possible to socialize virtually. Most people would think this scenario is the perfect setup for introverts, but I disagree. Since the goal is to “see” people, everyone uses a webcam so that the screen is filled with faces. At an actual party, you might interact with 2-3 people at one time. In this new virtual gathering, you’re faced with a dozen or more people at once. People that are stuck at home all day and extroverts dying for someone to talk to think Zoom is the best thing since sliced bread. I think it’s great that the world is finding ways to connect during this time of isolation. But for me, the thought of logging into one of these sessions after a work day like I’ve just described, is too overwhelming for me to even consider. This is why I’m opting out of any Zoom invitations I receive right now. It’s not personal, I just have no energy left at the end of the day and therefore nothing to contribute. 

One more thing I’d like to impart: Be gentle with those of us in the service industry. We are adapting our businesses in ways we never expected to, and we know things are getting missed. This frustrates us just as much as or more than it does you. Stay well, friends, and I hope we can meet face to face once this crisis is over.