MTAS Mustard for weeks ended 3/13, 3/20, and 3/27/20

 

Hi there MTAS,
 
With all of the recent changes due to COVID-19, and the work from home policy, are you craving a little normalcy? If you’re like me, you have been. I knew I was a creature of habit, but didn’t realize how much until my routine disappeared. That saying about “you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone” really hit home in the last couple of weeks. So, with that, how about a Mustard to get things back to usual?
 
Let’s begin with celebrations. Over the last three weeks, we’ve had four birthday honorees: Michelle B. on the 8^th, Betsy on the 10^th, Peter on the 11^th, and Frances on the 23^rd. Happy birthday ladies! I’m sure your celebrations were different than what you would have normally expected, but nonetheless I hope your special day was still quite special. We also have two work anniversaries to celebrate, both occurring on March 27. Happy work anniversary to Armintha and Lisa. These are two of our longer tenured team members. Thank you for all of those tremendous years of customer service!
 
Okay, so what’s been happening at MTAS over this time? You’ll recall that we all went to work from home starting March 23 with an anticipated end date of April 30. The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, was the prompt for us to leave our desks at the office and swap for the kitchen table, an end table, or whatever stable surface we might have at home. I’ve been checking in with the supervisors, and to date, I am not aware of any of us being sick with the virus. This is a good thing, and I’d like to keep it that way. Please, let’s make sure we stay well by washing our hands frequently and staying home. I am periodically making Skype calls to you all to check in, to make sure you have what you need, and to ensure that you aren’t feeling socially isolated – distanced perhaps - but not isolated. We have a week behind us, and so far so good.
 
Everyone seems to be managing the change relatively well. As I read news stories about the tragedies caused by this pandemic, I am especially grateful for UT supporting this alternate work situation and keeping us employed; I am grateful that none of us have been infected; and I am grateful that our customers are relying on us to help them get through these hard times. It would be so easy to focus on the negative, so I make an extra effort to find the good in the situation. Here’s a quote from Groucho Marx: “I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.”
 
I hope you find some happy today!
Margaret