Suspended Perks

Last week due to a downed power line outside of my husband's office and his inability to enter his office building, my husband worked from home. 

My husband recently finished our basement.  His excuse-that was where he could go when he worked from home.

Since our first daughter turned two he rarely works from home due to "distractions".  It is hard to keep a two year old out of an office that doesn't have doors. His official "office" with his computer, desk, desk supplies, filing cabinet, and book shelf was once a dining room. It now has some added additions such as our youngest's pack-n-play in a corner and a Little People Village scattered on the Oriental carpet.

My husband's new office does not look like an office. No desk, no computer (well, my husband has a work laptop), and no everending supply of sticky notes or pens.

What his "office" does have-a bar, a big screen TV, a dart board, a pool table, every game system known to man, and three very comfy oversized chairs. Oh, and a coffee table to hold his laptop and drink of choice.

Last week he retreated to the basement everyday.  He had requested that I pretend he wasn't there since he was officially "at work".  Yes, in the past I sometimes took advantage of him being home when he had a lull in his work.  If I saw him surfing the Internet, I would ask him to watch our daughter while I got a shower or made lunch.

Of course he took advantage of being home to.  Lunches were made to order and  if he needed a drink or something at the store, I was there to get it for him so he could continue working.  I was his "Girl Friday" at times.

After his declaration that he was "going to work" each day, I and the girls continued on our day as if he wasn't home.  Granted we could hear his voice when he was on conference calls or if he came upstairs to use the bathroom but we would only see or hear him briefly. Granted, I liked this.  With him downstairs there were no interruptions to the girls' schedules as we would have if he was working upstairs.  This was easier for us all.  A lot of the time he still had meetings so he would still leave during the day to. 

After about three days of this, my husband surfaced while I was making lunch for my two year old and myself.  He saw the grilled cheese sandwhiches on the stove and asked, "what am I having for lunch?"

I looked at him and replied smiling, "Your not here, remember.  Your responsible for your own lunch."

He started laughing remembering our conversation. "Oh I see how it is," he replied. "Okay, I'm going to do what I do for work and I'm going out to get my own lunch."

I told him I was just joking and that I would make him a sandwhich.  He declined saying he preferred to go out since he didn't want to eat a sandwhich and nothing else looked appealing in the fridge.  If I ate out everyday I would feel guilty about the money I wasted and I would also get sick of eating out.  But, I did envy a little his having a half hour of eating alone, quiet, uninterrupted, unspilled drinks and food.   Only a little.  Because I get to eat with my two favorite girls and laugh as my Emmy blows bubbles with her straw which is her new favorite thing to do in the whole world.