Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Tired

Hannah was sick again on Monday. Feverish, cranky, disruptive. It seems that someone in the family has been sick since before Christmas. Frankly, I am extremely tired of the coughing, wiping runny noses, checking temperatures, and constantly wondering if the kids will stay at daycare all day and whether or not I (or Lynda) can work at the office for a normal amount of daily work hours.

It was my turn Monday (or so I calculated). I even put my name, and my name alone, on Hannah's morning sheet when I dropped her off at the daycare. But I guess I was not explicit enough, as Lynda still got the call first. She called me and I told her that I would get Hannah and try to continue working from home.

If the kids cooperate, I can--in fact--manage a facsimile of working at home. The laptop can access the work files remotely and while it spins a bit more slowly, I don't have to carry half of a filing cabinet of papers home when I am forced to relocate. I can also stay up with emails and project progress from home as well. But I don't prefer working outside of the office. I rather like the forced concentration of being in public, having managers able to call and check on progress. At home I could slip away from the laptop and watch a cooking show for thirty minutes or just sit and eat cookies or something.

I chose to take the bullet and stay home today in part because Lynda is (no surprise) behind in her current project. That seems like it is a constant description of her working . . . more so than is common with me. I don't know for sure if that is a reflection of our two working styles or the amount of work they expect of her as opposed to me, but it always seems to describe her more than me.

And that does bother me. Sometimes I feel that I work for one-and-a-half departments (my own and part time as babysitter for hers). But that is just my surliness talking and I try not to let it get to me too often--thought Lynda would probably disagree . . .

So, I'm trying to catch up on some stuff that I might have completed in the office. And I am anticipating some opportunities to relax and get away from the laptop for a while. But who knows what Tuesday brought? Who knows if Hannah will be suitable for daycare and who knows which of us, Lynda or myself, will be staying home if she's not?

*****

NOTE: I found the missing commercial that I originally wanted to pair with this post of a few days ago. Go check out the updated post.

1 comment:

Sven Golly said...

When suffering the vicissitudes of life's daily struggles, I firmly believe it is helpful to remember the age-old admonition to just sit and eat cookies or something.