I cannot stress enough how glad I am to be working from home today. I left work yesterday not only angry but deeply frustrated.

There are two things I simply cannot abide in the workplace:

1. Rudeness. There is no reason for anyone to be rude to their coworkers. There is never an excuse for it. No matter the situation, there is always a kinder, gentler approach.
2. Lack of communication. There is no reason not to communicate—especially when it’s done intentionally to make someone else’s job more difficult.

These two things often go hand in hand, and when they’re used deliberately to make another person look bad or uncomfortable, it’s just plain sabotage. You cannot tell someone one thing, change your mind without informing them, and then act as though they’re the problem. And to make matters worse, after being rude and uncommunicative, that same person complains about how hard their job is and asks you to do it for them.

I’m all for helping coworkers, but when someone constantly says they’re “too busy” to help with even the smallest task—especially because they’re working on a side job they’re getting paid extra for—it crosses a line. The arrangement is supposed to be simple: make up the time you miss, and don’t work on the second job during your regular hours. Yet somehow, those rules seem to apply to everyone but them.

While these examples come from within my own department, the same rudeness and lack of communication seem to be spreading campus-wide. Every time I have to depend on another department lately, it turns into a source of stress and frustration.

Yesterday, after a week of this nonsense, I’d had enough. My boss got an earful. Her advice? “Stop being such a nice person.” That’s easier said than done. I know how to be assertive, but having to be aggressive only increases my anxiety.

So, if any of my readers happen to know of a university museum looking for an educator or a programs-and-outreach person, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I already have a few applications out there, but it’s time to start looking actively instead of passively.

I have a museum conference coming up soon. While networking isn’t something I usually enjoy, I’m actually fairly good at it when I need to be. As much as I love my institution and my job, it may simply be time to move on.

For now, I’m just grateful it’s Friday and I can breathe again.

Yesterday’s program is finally behind me. Attendance was low—embarrassingly so—but at least the caterer did prepare our food, and the speaker turned out to be excellent. Everyone who came really enjoyed his talk.

I just wish more people had been there to hear it. The event didn’t get advertised the way it should have, and that certainly didn’t help. Still, it’s done now, and all I can do is move forward and focus on making the next programs more successful.

Some days, that’s all you can do—take the lessons, let go of the frustration, and keep going.

I’m ready for today to be over with. The public program I have today has been one of the most frustrating I’ve ever done. It feels like one disaster after another.

It started with the dates. I couldn’t get anyone to settle on them soon enough for the promotional materials, so they barely got out on time. My two speakers were arranged by someone outside the museum, and they’ve hardly communicated with me. The caterers have been equally silent—though, at this point, I’ve come to expect that kind of incompetence from them.

Then the government shutdown forced one of my speakers to cancel, and my remaining speaker emailed just yesterday to ask what he should talk about. If he’d communicated like most speakers do, this would have been settled weeks ago. To make matters worse, the VIP who was supposed to introduce him backed out at the last minute because something “more important” came up.

And then there are my coworkers. Some of the laziest, most self-centered individuals I’ve ever worked with. When I ask for help, even with the smallest tasks, I’m met with bad attitudes or outright refusals. Yet they’re the ones who want to change parts of my job so I’ll end up doing parts of theirs. That’s not going to happen.

One of them even took a work-from-home day today, despite knowing there’s an event. Under my previous boss, that was never allowed—you couldn’t take a remote day on an event day. But apparently, that rule doesn’t apply anymore. I give up my own work-from-home days all the time to make things run smoothly, but when she’s asked to be flexible, she refuses.

I am tired. I am anxious. I just want this day to be over with. I’m sick and tired—literally and figuratively—of everything. I just want this disaster to end. I fear today is going to be an embarrassment.

Oh, and of course it’s raining. Bad weather always means a smaller crowd. I just hope people show up, and that we have food to serve them.

At this point, if anything goes right today, I’ll count it as a victory.

It’s finally Friday, and I’m glad to see the week winding down. My schedule has been a little unusual these past few days. Normally, I work from home on Fridays, but this week’s oddities had me doing that yesterday instead. I only put in a half day yesterday, and today will be another half day for me since I have an appointment this afternoon up near Burlington. While I’m in the area, I may take the opportunity to do a little shopping—something I don’t often get the chance to do outside of errands.

Of course, the other reason for my adjusted schedule is that I’ll be working tomorrow. The museum is rarely open on Saturdays except for special occasions, but this weekend happens to be one of those times. That means I’ll be in today and tomorrow, but I’ll be the only staff member on duty. I’ll still have visitors coming through, which keeps things lively, but otherwise, the museum will be quiet and mine to manage alone. Honestly, that’s how I prefer it these days—peaceful, focused, and with time to make sure everything runs smoothly without distractions.

So while others may be easing into their weekend, I’ll still be in work mode a little longer. But I’ll also find small ways to enjoy it—a bit of shopping in Burlington, a quiet afternoon to myself, and the satisfaction of guiding the museum solo for a couple of days.

Wherever your weekend takes you—whether it’s filled with plans, completely restful, or somewhere in between—I hope it brings you a little peace and a lot of joy. Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

It’s Monday again—the start of another week. Hard to believe we’re already at the end of September and about to turn the calendar over to October. Here in Vermont, the seasons are shifting quickly, but with the drought this year, the leaves have already reached their peak. Before long, the trees will be bare, and autumn will give way to the starkness of early winter.

Today will be a busy one for me. I have tours scheduled through much of the day, including one I’ll be giving for some visiting family from Alabama. Later on, I’ll also be leading a special tour for a class, which should be a nice change of pace. Beyond that, it looks like a fairly regular week ahead—but of course, saying that and it actually being so are two very different things. Life has a way of throwing in surprises just when we least expect them.

As the last days of September slip away, I’m reminded of how quickly the seasons turn. One moment the trees are aflame with color, and the next, their branches are bare against the sky. Time seems to move the same way—quietly, steadily, and all too fast. Here’s to making the most of these fleeting days as we step into October. I’ll do my best to take this week as it comes, and I hope each of you has a good week ahead as well.

The falling leaves drift by my window
The autumn leaves of red and gold
I see your lips, the summer kisses
The sun-burned hands I used to hold

I’ve always loved this song. I think I first heard it on the Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil soundtrack, which features only Johnny Mercer songs, since his house in Savannah is pivotal to the story. That soundtrack is still one of my favorites, and Mercer’s music never fails to strike a chord with me.

Today is the first day of autumn. Vermont is one of the most beautiful and scenic places in the world this time of year. People from all over the globe make their way here just to see the “autumn leaves of red and gold.” This year, though, they might be a little disappointed if they’ve visited before. With the drought Vermont and much of New England has faced, the colors aren’t quite as vibrant as they usually are. Still, if you’ve never seen Vermont in “leafing” season, it’s breathtaking. And truth be told, those postcards and pictures—like the classic images of Stowe—are often enhanced to make them more vibrant than what nature actually gives us. In reality, it’s more like the softer, subtler version you’ll see in the second picture of Stowe below.

No matter what, autumn in Vermont is a season worth savoring. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and a scenic fall. And like Mercer’s lyrics remind us, each season carries its own beauty and its own memories—some bright, some bittersweet, but all worth holding close.