MUSINGS FROM THE MIND OF AMANDA

I’ve worked for the same company for a little over seventeen years…but in March, I changed positions to a “remote” one, which basically means I work from home. In some ways, it’s the best thing ever. I wake up thirty minutes before start time, take a shower, put on clean pajamas, commute for seventeen feet, and bam! I’m at work. No more worrying about getting back in time after lunch. No spending gas money. Saving a ton on makeup, too.

On the other hand, lots and lots of things live in my house. My husband, my son, six cats and four dogs all live here, too. Three of the dogs don’t care if I’m here or not. The fourth, Lillie, spends the whole day trying to lure me back to my bed. Now, let’s be honest, it wouldn’t take much to persuade me, but still, I have to work to keep Lillie in the lifestyle to which she’s become accustomed.

And then there’s the cats. Two of them don’t care. Three of them will come in if the door is open but only because they want to eat my plants. The sixth cat, Mollie, plans her sieges like a Roman general. She sits outside the door, patiently waiting for me to open it, at which point she develops warp speed and materializes on my desk. Her giant butt, with uncanny gracelessness, manages to knock things off my desk like she gets paid for it. She also insists on sitting in my lap, making biscuits and purring, which is very distracting because then I don’t want to do anything else. Her other favorite tactic is to sit outside and cry. She cries like maybe she’s suddenly found herself trapped in a bear trap, with actual bears on the way. In reality, she’s dishonest and the truth is not in her.

The hardest things to deal with are my husband and son. My husband has no inside voice. He has more of a permanent outside bellow. You could hear him in a helicopter. He wanders in randomly, and forgets about the cat, so then I have to chase her down and decide what he wants to take care of him. Sometimes, it’s nothing. He just wants to come in the office. Go figure

My son wanders in too. He just graduated and for the first time, he has nothing to do. No classes. His job is extremely part time. His friends are busy. He wanders in just to wander in.

So to recap: Pajamas, cheap meals and no gas money vs. pets and family.