Tasting the Life of a Work-From-Home Mom

So, I'm working from home these days. It's quite lovely and I find my productivity to be far better than when I was at my old office- which was cold, lonely (just me), and not very safe. However, yesterday and today I've tasted the life of a work-from-home mom. Though I do not have any children, our household does have The Dog.

The Dog nearly drove me over the edge yesterday. He was clingy, needy, loud, disobedient, under foot, and generally dreadfully ill-behaved. Nothing I did made The Dog happy. The Dog made trying to get all my work done nearly impossible. By the time Lady Friend got home from work, I wanted put The Dog in a play-pen and go cry in the garage (we don't have a play-pen or a garage, but you get the idea). When Lady Friend walked through the door, I immediately started to hem and haw about how terrible The Dog had been, what an awful and frustrating day it was. Out of my mouth popped "I don't know what is wrong with YOUR dog. He's just pushed every single one of my buttons today! YOU have to take care of him this evening. I'm done for the day!"

Then, last night, The Dog was crying and had a really hard stomach. Lady Friend rubbed his tummy until he fell asleep. I fell asleep with one hand on his abdomen so I could make sure he was still breathing, even though Lady Friend assured me he often gets an upset stomach and there's nothing to worry about.

Today, The Dog is lethargic, sad, crying a little, and just nibbling at his food, which is usually inhales in under one minute. He was able to, um, take his constitutional, but he is obviously still feeling lousy. All day long I have been getting up from work to open curtains and blinds and move a pallet of quilts around the house so The Dog can sleep in the sunlight, which he likes do to when feeling poorly. I've been lavishing him with love and feeling guilty I was so angry at him yesterday when, obviously, his poor behavior was the product of feeling awful.

So, this is a tiny, only semi-comparable experience of being a work-from-home mom. My deepest sympathies and love go out to all the Mothers and Fathers with small children, especially those Mothers and Fathers who work from home or are stay at home parents!