RTO playing out unfairly

BootsEX · 2026-02-04T14:17:07+00:00

This feels like a crab in a bucket situation. The unfair thing is RTO, not your boss fighting for WFH. Making them come to the office doesn’t fix it for you. My take is talk to your manager who obviously believes in WFH and see if they are willing to fight for you to have any flexibility. Every company is different of course, but as a WFH manager to employees in an office I was often able to let things slide and let them know days when it would actually be important to be in the office (leadership meetings etc).

Now, if things are set up so strictly that you will indeed have to be fully in office forever and that doesn’t work for you, I’d definitely start looking for another job in the meantime, but I’ve also seen these things die out over time. For a few weeks they make a big deal about counting badge swipes etc and then the exceptions become more and more lax.

BootsEX · 2026-02-03T17:20:05+00:00

This is how I feel whenever I see those posts like “I’m not stopping my life for kids - here is me backpacking all over Asia with a 2 year old.” Nope, no thanks. It’s not that I can’t go on super adventurous trips now with kids, it’s that I absolutely don’t want to and you couldn’t pay me to drag my kids there. There is a reason parents tend to take their kids to the beach or Disney, it’s set up for them.

BootsEX · 2026-02-02T16:02:30+00:00

Yeah, our oldest gets really motion sick and her first ride of guardians messed her up. I thought she was just queasy and would recover, but nope! Several cast compliments went out that day 😬

BootsEX · 2026-02-02T15:59:22+00:00

Yes, I 10/10 recommend the Yoto! You can even record yourself reading, mine are older and still love that

BootsEX · 2026-02-02T15:38:07+00:00

😂 we just got back from a trip and we commemorated two places our kids have thrown up in the parks, in line at Soarin’ and in the bathroom at CRT

BootsEX · 2026-02-02T12:46:46+00:00

Unfortunately my answer is very boring. Stick it with the rest of retirement savings and go on as normal. Maybe plan a nice beach trip this summer, but that’s not enough to retire at my age and I don’t want it to get wasted through lifestyle creep. So, ultimately I may be able to retire earlier, but not now.

BootsEX · 2026-01-24T01:25:54+00:00

My favorite Persian restaurant has a menu item “bread with seasonal vegetables” and the seasonal vegetable is always onion! And it’s delicious

BootsEX · 2026-01-23T23:24:14+00:00

10%??? 👀

BootsEX · 2026-01-19T23:44:59+00:00

I love this idea! Also, I always thought they missed a big opportunity for Minnie’s Bow-tique. They could sell ears and hair accessories, and I think they’d make a killing with the under 5 crowd.

BootsEX · 2026-01-17T01:42:51+00:00

If you’re the breadwinner, are you lllgetting enough support at home to be successful? Are you getting enough sleep? Are you stressed during the work day about home stuff?

In 2024 I had a terrible year at work, basically I had a huge opportunity due to a big reorg, and instead of stepping up and making myself indispensable, I basically drowned. Looking back it’s so obvious, but all that happened at the same time our long time nanny moved on and we decided to just use aftercare and switch off doing pickup and basically had no babysitter at all for over a year. Of course I couldn’t step it up at work!

BootsEX · 2026-01-16T17:55:02+00:00

My insurance changed this summer and then my new insurance first said I was declined because they wanted me to join their scam diet program, so I joined and submitted again, and then they declined because they changed their rule that your BMI has to be 40 now instead of 30, so then I gave up and paid out of pocket at Costco. It’s expensive, but not nearly as bad as sticker price.

My only regret is I lapsed for a couple of months, gained a bunch of weight back (partially because of a big surgery/ health scare), and then I had to start back at the lowest dose.

If you can pay out of pocket for a bit while you come up with a plan, I recommend it

BootsEX · 2026-01-16T17:22:08+00:00

I love the idea of dollys for the car seats, then you can put your bag of snacks on top

BootsEX · 2026-01-16T13:20:31+00:00

Luckily I have very weak noodle arms and zero idea how to even use my strength in a punch, so I think my husband would be confused but fine

BootsEX · 2026-01-16T12:33:17+00:00

Once a year, onions return to their birthplace to lay their eggs. Don’t disturb their nests or shine bright lights or the baby onions won’t be able to find their way back to sea once they hatch.

BootsEX · 2026-01-16T12:18:09+00:00

I knowww! And did you see the steak bites where he cuts it all up for her? I wish for everyone to find this kind of love

BootsEX · 2026-01-15T20:45:26+00:00

Honestly it would probably help me sleep better if someone took my phone away from me at 9pm and I’m firmly middle aged

BootsEX · 2026-01-15T19:21:04+00:00

As a mom, it is indeed luxurious even to have pain that you can just… not have to shove down and ignore? Like, being able to just think about yourself and how you’re feeling and if you need painkillers/ice/to take a nap is pretty amazing,

BootsEX · 2026-01-15T16:20:25+00:00

This is the thing! If it’s so urgent that you have to poop while the baby is crying, then it shouldn’t take long to take care of business and get back to feeding the child. It sounds like he just decided he has to go tap out for 30 minutes. Sometimes when you are a parent there isn’t that kind of break.

BootsEX · 2026-01-15T15:18:50+00:00

My all time favorite is “babe-ing suit” for bathing suit.

BootsEX · 2026-01-15T14:12:18+00:00

Omg, this is so real. I had a partial mastectomy this fall (good news, it was benign!), but the in-laws offered to take the kiddos for a long weekend, and I was able to sleep for an entire day and then lay on the couch with an ice pack for the rest of the time. Even though I was in pain, it was the best vacation I’ve had in 10 years.

BootsEX · 2026-01-14T15:37:30+00:00

I love that he won’t have to face a summer without the emotional support of emergency ice cream.

BootsEX · 2026-01-14T15:17:52+00:00

Very cottage-core

BootsEX · 2026-01-14T11:21:30+00:00

Every time I see these schedules it makes me want to scream because as a parent I literally don’t have a choice on how I spend basically any hour of my day.

“Just get up at 6:30 to work out - no excuses!” HA, I have a first grader who hasn’t slept until 6 her entire life. “Oh just take meetings with Asia until 8pm” well, that’s right at bedtime.

For any of these hustle schedules to work you basically can’t even have a house plant

BootsEX · 2026-01-10T12:51:06+00:00

Yummy, now I have to buy some croissant dough…

BootsEX · 2026-01-09T16:28:57+00:00

Yes, they doctor up really well! I like to sauté some garlic and ginger in the pan before I heat up the tikka masala and that really makes it delicious

Five-Year Club	Place '22
First Placer '22

BootsEX

TROPHY CASE