When people hear that I work from home, they inevitably tell me how lucky I am. I mean, I’m HOME – I don’t have to get up, shower, get dressed and commute to an office. Working from home evokes a vision of waking up late, leisurely brewing a pot of coffee, walking into a well organized home office and working all day in pajamas. I wish… Here’s what it really looks like:
6:45 – alarm goes off. Husband heads to the shower while I go to The Kid’s room to wake him up for Kindergarten.
7:00 – The Kid has been hustled out of bed and dressed. He wants “eggies, bacon, pancakes, chocolate milk and strawberries” for breakfast.
7:05 – Make requested breakfast. Mom-guilt prevents me from filling a bowl with cereal and milk and handing it to him.
7:15 – Breakfast made, The Kid eating. Run into office to check emails and see if there are any I can respond to quickly. Company is located on the East Coast and I’m on the West Coast so they’ve already been at work for a few hours. Invariably, there are three or four things that need my attention RIGHT NOW.
7:30 – First fires of the work day put out, check on The Kid. Look enviously at husband who is enjoying a leisurely breakfast while reading the paper.
7:45 – Hustle husband and The Kid out the door to school.
7:46 – Run back to office and begin “real” work day – no time for coffee, breakfast, or getting dressed. Grab a Diet Dr. Pepper instead. Settle in for several hours of projects and conference calls.
Sometime between 7:46 and 4:00 – Find 30 minutes between meetings to shower, dress, and have something to eat. Rush through shower, forgetting to shave one leg. Forage through the refrigerator for something quick to eat – bowl of cottage cheese will work - bring it into the office to eat during meeting (with towel on head to prevent wet hair from dripping down back).
4:00 – Carpool brings The Kid home from school. Park him in front of the television while finalizing work project.
5:00 – Clean up breakfast dishes, throw a load of laundry in, brush hair (finally!) and start dinner.
6:00 – Husband comes home and wonders why I didn’t do anything around the house while working from home. Try not to smack him.
6:30 – Clean dinner dishes, get The Kid to take a shower and then spend “quality time” with him playing Candyland, racing cars, and reading books.
8:00 – Put The Kid to bed.
8:01 – Cram exercise, laundry, cleaning, "quality time” with husband, and a glass of wine into 2.5 hours before bed
11:00 - Go to bed and start all over again.
11:00 - Go to bed and start all over again.
When I was pregnant and working full time (in an office) I used to envy moms who worked from home. I was totally guilty of envisioning the beauty of juggling both while being at home to nurture my child.
ReplyDeleteAnd then I had the child.
Even though I wasn't working from home I quickly realized how ridiculously impossible that dream would have been to accomplish. And now, though I don't "work" from home, I write from home and it's not easy at all.
KUDOS to you for getting it done! (And not committing a homicide at 6:00PM. :)