For years I used to be envious of those who work from home.
I used to imagine them waking at 8:59 a.m., hair in Einstein mode as they walked down stairs to log onto the computer.
No lines to the coffee maker or having to fake interest as that annoying co-worker shows you 231 freshly printed pictures of their 4-year-old kid’s birthday party the day before.
The joy of being able to stroll upstairs and relax for the morning bathroom break without worrying about Bob sitting down in the stall next to you and blowing a hole in the back of the toilet.
Well let me be the first to tell you it’s not so grand.
You don’t believe me do you? Fine!
Here’s a few highlights of how my day went yesterday.
Let me first set the stage. We have a dog (it’s my wife’s, I don’t claim it), a cat, a daughter who attends half-day kindergarten, a neighbor’s kid that hangs out during the day (which is cool…he’s a good dude), and my wife also works from home four days out of the week, part-time.
6:45 – 7:55 a.m. – Alarm goes off. I wake the boy, make his lunch, feed him, tell him 157 times to take a bite of cereal, and then drop him off at school.
8:14 a.m. – Go to the grocery because we have no bread, milk, or cat food.
8:40 a.m. – Log into work.
8:42 a.m. – Let the dog outside because he rang his bell by the door which means he wants out.
8:44 a.m. – Let the dog back inside because he’s barking…..at nothing.
9:32 a.m. – Step outside to take a call from the boss because my daughter’s screaming because she doesn’t want to wear the shirt her mother’s telling her to wear.
10:02 a.m. – Tear-ass down the street after my wife’s dog which my daughter let out of the front door.
10:24 a.m. – Go to the bathroom.
10:26 a.m. – Stand up from the bathroom before finishing because the neighbor’s kid is jumping up and down outside the door screaming “I’m gonna have an accident Justin!!! Hurry!!!”
10:36 a.m. – The dog rings his bell to be let outside.
10:37 a.m. – Let the dog back in because he’s barking at the wind.
11:00 a.m. – Step in cat puke filled with pieces of our indoor plants he’s eating.
11:11 a.m. – Lose Internet connection because the wife decided to rearrange her desk and unplug the Wi-Fi without warning me.
11:34 a.m. – Apologize to the other professionals on the conference call I’m on because my daughter just walked in the door and screamed “Macy’s in the house!!!!!”
11:45 a.m. – Take daughter to school.
12:05 p.m. – Shun the dog for chewing a hole through my wife’s sandals while I was out taking the daughter to school.
12:30 p.m. – Ask the wife if she’s up for a little afternoon “action.”
12:31 p.m. – Go back to my desk excited because the wife said “not today” which means maybe tomorrow!!
12:46 p.m. – Run to the front window because the high-school drop-out drug dealing 16-year-old kid is fighting with his girlfriend on his front lawn again.
12:58 p.m. – Yell down to the wife that he dog just peed on kitchen rug….again.
1:09 p.m. – Strongly consider buying a bottle of Jack and killing it.
And it goes on…..There’s four more hours of this.
I’m seriously considering making the local coffee shop my new office. Although I’m so damn ADD I’d spend the entire day people-watching and being distracted by bright shiny things.
So maybe I’ll visit the dog-pound instead.
