I love my family. I really do. Wouldn't trade them for anything. I love working from home. I really do. Recommend it to my clients all the time. But sometimes my two loves mix like oil and water. Take today for example.
I was looking forward to a blissfully quiet day reserved for administrative work and one planned break to bake a cake for my husband's birthday dinner.
The morning got off to a smooth start. I took my husband to the train station (we are trying to juggle having two cars and three drivers, so I am the default taxi driver ). On the way home I decided to quickly swing by the gas station to vacuum out the car (a task that nobody else in the family seems the least bit concerned about). Unfortunately, the machine ate my money and by the time I got someone to help me out, my five minute "quick-stop" expanded to a half-hour ordeal.
Undeterred, I arrived home feeling chipper and proceeded to bake the birthday cake. All went smoothly until it was time to make the frosting. That is when I discovered there was no confectioners sugar in the house. Now mind you, I had just gone to the supermarket last night. My husband was in charge of writing down the list of ingredients for the carrot cake. Evidently, he did a great job on the cake ingredients, but (ahem) must have gotten distracted before he got to the frosting part.
So, I got back in the car and ran down to the supermarket. Picked up the sugar and decided to expedite things by using the self-checkout. Dumb move. I don't know who the genius was who invented those machines, but man, it sure is easier to check-out the old-fashioned way.
Drove home. Finished the cake and started heading upstairs to my office. Then out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a package from Amazon.com sitting in the foyer. It was addressed to our daughter who is away at college. Inside the box was a text book that she had mistakenly sent home instead of to her dorm. Knowing that she needed the book for a class, I texted her and asked what I should do. No surprise, she immediately wrote back that yes, she made a mistake, and yes, she needed it right away. She did make sure to add "sorry" so I couldn't be too mad at her.
Back I went to the car. Drove to the post office where I spent fifteen minutes trying to figure out the relative merits of Priority mail over Express mail. Sent the book off and (once again) headed home.
By the time all was said and done, it was 1:00 pm. I quick gulped down some soup, and now finally, I am "starting" my day. I've turned the cell phone off and will let voice mail pick up the rest of the messages. Wish me luck!