The Gift of Losing My Office

You’re kidding, right? Where is the gift of losing my office? In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic?!

Well, when one office door closes, another office door opens! I’m here to tell you that the cliches are sometimes true.

On March 13th, I closed my acupuncture office and waited for the all-clear to re-open, and then kept waiting. Our lease was due for renewal in May. As the weeks wore on, re-opening safely became less certain.  In the meantime, one of my suite-mates determined she didn’t need the days, so that left a rent deficit to fill. The primary lease-holder was understandably nervous about re-committing to an expensive lease with so much uncertainty, and now with even more financial liability. We’d been in this lovely building for 12 years, and had been sharing an office for over 22 years! After a few months we started looking at new offices, but could not find one that met both our criteria.

I was feeling desperate and discouraged. In frustration, I observed that the space we had just seen was so ideal for her that maybe we should “break up the band” and she should take it for herself.  Of course, after speaking those words, which just tumbled out, I was horrified -or was I really liberated?- to acknowledge that I had just cut myself loose! And would now have to create a new work environment on my own! However, it felt right, despite the other challenges it would bring.  Well, she’s now happily ensconced in that new space, with a suite-mate that is a terrific match for her.

The key to a wonderful new office was letting go of the old office! My first few solo attempts at securing a new space were feeble, and unsuccessful. My husband suggested I look on Craig’s list, which I had never done ever, for anything. But as he suggested this, he started searching, and found two listings right away. The second one turned out to be “the one.” The landlord was flexible (!), the rent was reasonable (!!), it was the exact neighborhood I wanted (close to my former office!!!), the landlord was open to suggestions (!!!!), accommodated two of my “unreasonable” asks (!!!!!),  and -best of all- the suite had features that made it ideal for a health-care office. He asked me for a few accommodations as well, which I was happy to make. It seemed too easy, too good to be true. But it was.

So I moved in a few weeks later. Day by day, it felt more like “home.”  My patients were returning for treatment and everyone responded positively. Before the month was out, I invited a colleague to share my new office, and to my surprise and delight, with the fortuitous timing of my invitation, she joined me a few weeks later. We began co-creating our lovely new treatment space, which made coming to work even more gratifying.

So now I have a vital, energetic, warm professional groove happening.  I’m so happy to come in to work (safely of course, still following all pandemic-related safety measures). The gift of losing my office was the gift of finding a lovely new one.

Have you experienced a loss that turned out to be a gain? Tell me about it!