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!

Books I Read: 2008

In early January of 2008, I decided to keep a log of all the books I read in 2008. In addition to title and author, I wrote a few sentences about each book reminding myself of the plot and what I thought of the book. Mostly, this was a personal endeavor to remember books, as once a few weeks have passed, I often begin to jumble plots and characters. It was a year of good books. A year of heavy public library use. A year of browsing the library and friends' bookshelves with no particular direction. Ever since finally finishing grad school, after being in school for 18 straight years, I did enjoy disproportionate numbers of fiction and literary fiction titles- it was glorious. Some were re-reads, and some are written in the back of my little blank book under no specific month. I know a few are missing, as well; however, I cannot remember exactly which books are missing and what their plots were.

If you'd like more information about a specific title, my thoughts on a book, or would like to chat about something you've read from the list or something you think I should read in 2009, feel free to comment or e-mail. Though I aspire to Kristy's level of humility, I do feel somewhat proud that I surpassed the American average of less than two books read in a single year. Without further ado, Books I Read: 2008.

January
Walk On, Bright Boy (Charles Davis)
A Hatred for Tulips (Richard Lourie)
Up High in the Trees (Kiara Brinkman)
Every Past Thing (Pamela Thompson)
The Vine of Desire (Chiata Banerjee Divakaruni)

February
8 ball chicks (Gini Sikes)
Life on the Outside (Jennifer Gonnerman)
A World Apart: Women, Prison and Life Behind Bars (Cristina Rathbone)

March
Mozart's Sister (Rita Charbonnier)
Tomboy (Nina Bouraoui, translation)

April
Dragonfly Stories: Stories Celebrating The LGBT Community (J. Cascio, Ed)
Hers: Brilliant New Fiction by Lesbian Writers (Terry Wolverton, Ed)

May
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (Stephen Chbrosky)
Durable Goods (Elizabeth Berg)

June
The Story of Forgetting (Stefan Merrill Block)
Mercy (Lara Santoro)
Sarah's Key (Tatiana de Rosnay)
Mississippi Sissy (Kevin Sessums)

July
light fell (Evan Fallenberg)
The Beautiful Struggle (Ta-Nehisi Coates)
Girls on the Verge (Vendela Vida)
Map of Ireland (Stephanie Grant)
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal (Christopher Moore)
The Air Between Us (Deborah Johnson)

August
The Unexpected Child (Patricia Grossman)
Rose of No Man's Land (Michelle Tea)
Tea (Stacey D'erasmo)
A Seahorse Year (Stacey D'erasmo)

September
love poem to androgyny (stacey waite)
Bitches, Bimbos, & Ball Breakers: The Guerrilla Girls' Illustrated Guide to Female Stereotypes
Son for Night (Chris Abani)
The Passion of Alice (Stephanie Grant)

October/November
Night (Elie Wiesel)
The Stolen Child (Keith Donohue)

December
Falling Man (Don DeLillo)
a mercy (Toni Morrison)

Unknown Month
The Red Tent (Anita Diamont) (Summer?)
The Birth of Venus (Sarah Dunant) (Late winter?)
Pilate's Wife (Antoinette May) (Late spring/early summer?)
My Year of Meats (Ruth L. Ozeki) (Late winter?)