I’m back on the job tomorrow (after yet another fateful doctor’s appointment). Truth be told, I’ve missed it and have been keeping tabs on the work email. Normally, I travel back and forth between Baltimore, Chicago, and Bloomington-Normal, IL (aka the Blo-No) a few times a month. This has been the longest time between trips and the longest time off I’ve had from working since some dry patches during the freelance years.

I have restriction on the amount of weight I can lift for six to eight weeks after the surgery to prevent a hernia: 10 pounds. 10 measly pounds. I get the risk, but can’t we make this a progressive thing? Four weeks – 20 pounds, etc? This makes the travel for work tricky. Even checking a bag means lifting it on to the scale, out of the luggage carousel, and most importantly, up three flights of stairs to the Chicago condo. We’ve been considering shipping a bunch of clothes to Chicago ahead of time – some client-facing, some everyday office stuff – and traveling with the laptop and a few small things only.

It’s all TBD based on the discussion with the radiation doctor and our decision about whether or not to go that treatment route and what the schedule will be. I am hoping to get a trip in end of April or beginning of May regardless. The telecommute works very well for most things. What makes it work is periodic time on the ground with the co-workers and clients.