WFH Friday: The Lou Dress

Maybe I’m just feeling cynical today, but does anyone else thing these changes to more casual workwear, teleworking, and fewer in-person meetings is temporary?
I think this is all temporary. In the next couple of years, some young white men somewhere will think they invented the idea that in-person meetings are more productive, and dressing differently for the office than home changes how we are perceived in the workplace, and society will be back to formalwear and in-person in no time. It will go from “young people know how to maximize work and home productivity by teleworking! Those boomers going into the office are lazy and unproductive!” to “young people know you show up and engage in human interaction to make a difference! those boomers want to sit home and do nothing!”
Example: Remember how “open floorplan” offices because a horrible thing because young white men in silicon valley thought it was cool, and then workplaces did it and realized it was not efficient to have a workplace where a supervisor has to book a conference room to have a quick performance conversation with their direct report?

Signed, grumpy elder millenial

Has anyone had this happen? My 17mo old keeps having a runny nose. It’s now June (we’re in the midwest) — so allergy season but we should be past cold season! She just had more teeth break through, and we’ve tried allergy meds, but this is day 7 of the runny nose and daycare is sending her (and brother, per policy) home. This has been happening monthly. Taking a week off work every month for a runny nose is simply not sustainable. When we took her to the ped last time, they wouldn’t definitively rule out a cold, just that it may be teething, may be allergies, send home if she gets a fever. (Never has a fever with this.) Will any peds write a note that its allergies? Do we do a blood test? I find it hard to believe she’s getting weeklong colds every few weeks. We love this daycare EXCEPT for this part. (So frustrating — there is no working for me with a 1.5 and 3.5 yo home! We have some backup care but it’s hard for last-minute things like sick days.). Do I just find a nanny?? (Hard to find, expensive, and I WFH permanently now, so it’d be more distracting for me, etc.) Any solutions I haven’t considered?

How much do you pay for family photos? Our photographer is very talented and personable, but recently announced a change to her pricing structure so you can only buy packages that include albums and prints (which we don’t want – I enjoy making albums that combine her photos with ours, and we don’t want prints at all) and OMG it’s staggeringly expensive. She now charges a $300 sitting fee and the cheapest package with digital images is $1500 for only 20 edited digital images (plus an album and prints). We live in a low cost of living area, and I’m pretty sure we paid less than $1800 for our wedding photography! Last year it was only $400 for the session, which included ~50 edited digital images. We’ll probably do it because we love her work and we only do photos once a year so it’s within our budget, but I am kind of taken aback by how steeply she raised prices in just one year.

What is the etiquette for non-LGBTQ people wearing Pride t-shirts? Is it allyship or appropriation? I found the sweetest Sesame Street Pride t-shirt that I’d like to wear to in support of several family members. Family members would appreciate the gesture, but I don’t know whether I’d get side-eye from others.

For those of you who are going back to the office (or always have been going), with unvaccinated kids at home, are you masking up? N95? My work is pushing a return, mask and vaccine optional. Workspace is a bench space and/or cube farm. I think I’m masking, husband wants me to n95.

We are starting to think about a family reunion vacation for around 20 people ranging in age from toddlers to 80+. A Disney cruise would be perfect–everyone has their own space and can go off and do their own thing in smaller groups during the day, then the whole group gathers for dinner. Due to varying budgetary and vacation style preferences, however, a cruise is off the table. Is there a less expensive, land-based alternative that incorporates the desirable aspects of a cruise? My husband has suggested renting a big lake house, but I am opposed because we will end up spending the whole time cooking and cleaning, there won’t be enough space or hot water, and we will end up spending the entire time debating what to do instead of actually doing anything. His other idea is a ski trip, but not everyone likes to ski and half the family won’t want to spend that kind of money.