After Six Weeks

After Six Weeks

After six weeks
Of welcoming my new daughter into the world,
        (Enjoying the blissful blessing of formal family leave,)
Ignoring the HIPAA violations at the hospital,
Trying not to observe the inefficient placement of security cameras during diaper runs,
Or balancing birth announcements and baby updates with my desire to lead a private life,
I return to my office and find:

My fingers still remember my password, even after changing countless diapers;
Our weekly staff meeting is unchanged in either place, time, agenda, or cynicism;
My coffee pot still offers eager and trusted assistance;
Pastebin still displays our passwords for the world to see;
Spam subject lines continue to evolve
        (bowels and parasites joining viagra and loans);
Bots are still phoning home
        (the cries from our computers admitting defeat);
Wordpress is still getting hacked while PHP looks on mutely;
Staff are still falling for phishing;
Students are still sharing illegally;
Professors are still typing in WordPerfect;
Sysadmins still resent us;
Webdevs still ignore us.

I return to the work,
Swimming in the winds of challenge and changeability,
Building rickety roofs to keep out the rough weather,
Watching the clouds to predict what the day will bring,
Hoping the heat won't wither my muscle
And the cold won't paralyze my bones.
I remind myself that we play the long game
        (Yes, the game went on without me)
And the rules are still the same,
Playing out despite my absence,
But if I focus on the game,
So long as I keep playing to win,
I can eventually rest each night,
       (After the baby has calmed herself and embraced a milky torpor,)
Knowing my work is heading somewhere
Through the storm.