No... not that one... this one...
I don't know how other work at home moms to it but my guilt meter keeps me firmly planted in the center of the house where I am in plain sight of all the other beings that live here and can't function if they can't see me.
I do have a desk in the bedroom right next to my neat and tidy book shelves and across the room from the best view in the house. From the glass doors I can see the mountain and an open expanse of sky. I can sit in my lumbar-support swivel chair and keep some munchies and a cup a coffee on the desk and work in relative silence (unless, of course I decide to fire up iTunes because the Big Mac has the best speakers ever).
Well, the relative silence part is really a theory. If it is relatively silent while I'm in there its only for about 6 seconds.
As soon as I start sorting out grading charts or figuring out how to put short rows in a pattern so they make sense there's a knock at the door. Tater wants a drink, Flyboy wants to know where the rubber bands are, Doodle wants to call a friend and arrange a sleepover and Flash wants to know if he can watch a show off the DVR that he knows he's not allowed to watch (damn teenagers... always get ya when they think you're too busy to pay attention).
In Tater's defense she can't reach the cups or the juice but there are 4 people other than me here that could get her a drink. Flyboy should know where the rubber bands are because he's the last one that had them. Doodle will inevitably plan a sleep over, pack a bag, and inform me that we're meeting in 20 minutes. Flash.. well, he's 15... enough said.
Eventually, if you attempt to stay in the quiet room long enough... the littler ones forgo asking for help and go straight to the guilt factor.
Knock, knock.Who is it?It's me Mama... I drew a picture for you...Come on in...
The door flings open and in marches Tater with a big grin looking all proud of herself and presents me with this...
Tater explains to me that its a picture of me holding her the day she was born and Mac Daddy being all proud in the background.
(Guilt factor rising)
So long ago I gave up on trying to work in relative peace and instead took up residence on the kitchen island. I already hang out there most of the day while we do school work anyway so I may as well do my work there too. I can see the entire downstairs of the house (gotta love open floor plans), the front door, the front yard, and the driveway so I can keep a close eye on everything. I can also yell commands and know that everyone can hear me.
It puts a bit of a dent in my desire to have a neat and tidy existence but it sure does guarantee the counters will be clean... jelly on knitting charts doesn't work very well.
Its not all bad... the coffee pot is always within reach, the snack cabinet is an arms length away, and since I can see the driveway I can see when the mail comes... that way I can go get the yarn out of the mailbox right away.
Gee, sounds an awful lot like my house. You sure, you and I weren't separated at birth? :) LOL
Posted by: Mel | January 23, 2009 at 06:01 PM