Lesann Berry

If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember that old pithy phrase, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” My first recall of this cheerful directive was a poster hanging on the wall of my first or second grade classroom. Talk about imprinting. That one stuck.

It’s not such a bad outlook, even if you aren’t into citrus. No matter what fate dishes up, if you manage to find the silver lining, that can be enough to keep you trudging down the path. Have I used enough cliches, yet? Nope. Life occasionally slams a curve ball in your direction. I’m facing one right now. If I can manage to hit the damn thing, life will crack on better than it has been. But, sometimes that doesn’t happen.

Nature has a way of finding balance. 

After eight years of commuting 1,500 miles every week, I started working from home this January. The stress reduction has been unbelievable. The positive impact on my health has been immediate. Being home is wonderful. Having more hours with my family is like a Kodak commercial. No more of the endless hurry-up-and-wait of air travel. No more stale air and lousy food at airport terminals. No more sniff-tests and pat-downs by bored TSA representatives. No more sitting next to the Air Marshall and being poked in the side by his shoulder-holstered handgun. No more snotty business travelers who act like the rest of the passengers are somehow less important (yes, we’ve had issues).

The next plane I set foot on better be headed to Las Vegas or somewhere equally obnoxious. Which brings me back to the aforementioned curve ball. My employer sent me an email this morning, tentatively suggesting that perhaps they might need me to commute again.

Um. Really?

I’m thinking that’s not likely to happen. To abuse another catchphrase, I’m just saying no. Have you ever been pressured to make a change after the deal has been struck?