Snow days make working from home hell.
I so wish I had an office to go to in order to escape kids lounging on the couch, ignoring laundry, fighting, spilling food, and acting as if they have a Snow Day From School. The nerve.
Because I don’t.
This is when my worlds collide and I don’t like it one bit.
My part-time working life, the one that allows me to write mid-day than drive carpool and shuffle kids all afternoon and evening, becomes intolerable when schools close early, start late, or gasp – close completely for snow days.
We’re up to snow day #4, with a delay expected tomorrow, and more on the way for Friday. Which is nice, because it’s winter and I like my seasons seasonable: snow in the winter, sun in the summer.
Except …
there’s this whole job thing. Where clients and bosses still want work completed, on task and on time, whether there’s 3 feet of snow and neighborhood kids rifling through your pantry or not.
And I’m lucky; my kids are older and I work strictly from home, so juggling childcare and navigating icy roads to work are, thankfully, a non-issue. But working seems even more impossible now than when the kids were younger and the dreaded Teletubbies or hot boys from Zoboomafoo could get me a couple hours of work in.
Yeah, that’s right. I used TV as a babysitter. Anyone that denies doing so is a LIAR. Liar, liar, pants-on-fire.
I got the job done today, snow day #4 with ice coating trees, wires, and roads. It just took me twice as long to do so with constant interruptions of kids laughing, bickering, fighting, then worse – eery silence which is never, ever good.
Then there’s monitoring YouTube, getting kids off Facebook, off the roof, cleaning up kitchen explosions, and explaining why The Hangover is not exactly family friendly.
Snow days are exhausting and stunt the creative process. Except for kids. And dogs.
But there’s snow day magic too: sledding, blogging, reading by the fire, movie marathons, hot chocolate, closet cleaning, lego-mania, and BernDog that beckon.
Wanting to stay all day in pjs and play. Like when the kids were little, except now they can put on their own boots and mittens. And make their own lunches. And hot chocolate. And some for me.
I’m jealous. I want a snow day too. One that keeps the kids in school, work at bay, and me at home with nothing to do but lounge with a book, some hot coffee, and a fire.
I feel your pain. Though we don’t have snow days here in Florida, when I was working at home, in service days killed my schedule. Hurricane days are not so bad because I worked local so everyone was preparing for or recovering from the hurricane on those days.
A snow day is rare but when we do have them we’re alternating scraping one another off the ceiling with batches of popcorn and movies. Oh, and lots of duct tape and cardboard structures.
Our dog requires a sweater on snow days and might be self conscious about it….
Your snow day-wish? Warm inside.
Wow, that’s a ton of snow. I grew up in North Dakota & don’t remember staying home from school that often. But maybe I should ask my mother…
Wendi
http://www.wendiaarons.com
Wendi Aarons! kinda like a celeb in my twitter world!
CT are a bunch of wusses; hard core North Dakotans would never cancel school. FYI: Getting another cancel tomorrow with 3-6 predicted.
WUSSES.
I just spend 1/2 hr reading through some of your posts! You are hysterical! I can relate with you on so many things!!
Thanks for the laughs and I’m really looking forward to getting to know you better!!
I would also like to invite you to join the Over 40 Bloggers Club!! Take a look and join in the fun!
thx java, and right back atcha!
Sorry ’bout your ER visit, and best of luck at your new gig! I’ve got to find myself a better one ASAP as well — not gallstone, but job!
Coming to you from follow friday 40 and over. I’ve been thinking about going back to work but my youngest is only a year and I’m really not ready. Following you :o)
You are hysterical. This is one of the reasons I decided to go to school instead of retire – but somehow the snow days interfered with that too! We really don’t get those very often here, so it’s crazy when it happens!
You are very funny 🙂 I will not complain that we are only expecting another 2-4 inches tonight…
Once a week..2-4 inches…
http://www.doreenmcgettigan.com
Great snow pictures. I have never seen icecycles ?
that long. You made some great pictures. It’s been so long since I’ve worked or had young ones at home it’s hard for me to relate. Teens I would think would be harder than little ones to work around. Doylene
Not laughing now. Expecting another storm this Tues-Wed and tomorrow’s highs are 5 degrees!
Paige: sloooooowww down. you got time girl,lots of time!
Doylene — teens are a hormonal nightmare. Between teenage explosions and my perimenopausal meltdowns, this house is one giant mood swing!
ah man, i want the snow day you want! I’ve got two tots at home and two teens in school and seriously, instead of the teens being helpful on the day’s they’re home, they just screw up my routine with the tots. it’s really difficult to job hunt and adjust your resume to fit job openings when your two year old son is terrorizing his teen sisters. the screeching! from the teens. i need ear muffs. and a snow day, did i mention that? this is why i blog after bedtime.
@vanita — tots & teens? could.not.do.it. Thx for making the snow days here (#6 today) seem more bearable! Have mine outside shoveling right now. I may lock them out. 🙂