The downsides of that were feeling disconnected from my workplace, partly due to absence of those spontaneous conversations/sources of info and social connection at lunch, before & after meetings and just in the hall. Plus my phone connections to meetings meant that I missed some of what was going on--and all the subtext

That's why I like working from home 3 days a week and going to the office the other 2! As far as "meetings", I love being able to call in and then do whatever I want while listening but not having to sit there (pretending to listen and being able to do nothing else!)

I'm happy to be retired!

Good for you! I'm hoping to retire early next year.

Christina