Parameters

I’m just saying – be careful what you ask for!

My husband used to work from home – all the time. And there were some super nice things about that. Sometimes we would sneak out for lunch or take a walk or just sit in the kitchen and talk. But – you know what is coming next – he was here ALL the time. And, frankly he wasn’t that busy at work. So, my time was his time. Sometimes I felt like I had two shadows. And I did not get a lot done.

He started working from home about the same time our house was being renovated and our youngest child went to kindergarten – yep all three kids out of the house all day for the first time EVER. Welcome home hubby. This was also a really busy time for my card business – A Reason To Write.

Free time – what free time? The free time I had been so looking forward to was first filled with the sounds of hammers and then by the sound of his keyboard. Because, even though we fixed up a nice office for him in the basement, he preferred to plop down at the eat-up area in our kitchen. You got it – smack down in the middle of all the activity – and when the kids weren’t home – my inactivity.

So, I actually said to him – you know, this isn’t working out that great for you to be home all the time – maybe you could find a job that took you out of the house a couple days a week. I didn’t want to completely get rid of him but a little down time was sounding pretty good. So he comes home and announces he has an opportunity to work in India. And when his answer to “is that a new street in our neighborhood?” was “no”, I took a long, slow, deep breath.

I should have clarified, by saying to get out of the house a couple days a week, I did not mean India. I meant around the corner, down the street, you know – commuting distance. So much for the best laid plans of mice and wives. That did not work out the way I planned. So now I have decided that parameters are the way to go. When you ask for something – be very specific!