Working From Home

Recess-Trying to cross the room without using their feet

The Hubs has been working from home this week.  He's taking an online class for work training him to do something super complicated and important that has to do with computers.  (Read: contains big words that make my eyes glaze over when he attempts to describe it)  And that's all I can say about that.

What astounds me, and it really shouldn't, is just how disruptive it was on the first two days to have my husband home on a week day--even though he is sequestered in the basement office with the door shut having given all members of the family strict instructions that he cannot be interrupted because the class is skyped.  As much as I'm sure the other members of his class would love to listen to my child's latest story about the super strong ant that all the girls love and all the boy ants are jealous of, Hubby disagrees.


Apparently all the cool kids in my house decided that the thing to do was to act dumb when Daddy was around.  Because suddenly Joy could no longer add nor subtract.  Joy was doing her math at the kitchen table.  It was math that she's been doing all by herself for two weeks now with no problem.  But on Tuesday Daddy was also sitting at the table eating breakfast while she was doing her math.

Me: What is 8-0?
Joy: Um....4?
Me: You have 8.  You take nothing away.  How many do you have left?
Joy: 7?
Me: No.  Here is 8.  I take none of them away.  How many do you have?
Joy: I just can't think.
Me: Bangs head on table.

A little bit later I instructed the kids to write a story about what they think their lives will look like in twenty years.

Me: Lizzy, go write your story.
Lizzy: Just a minute.  I have to finish coloring my picture.
Me: This is not drawing time.  This is writing time.  Get to writing.
Lizzy: First I have to make a book for my story (this involves tying half a package of paper together with string despite the fact that her story will be no longer than half a page)
Me: Lizzy, stop making books.  Just write the story.
Lizzy: I need to find Madagascar on the map first.
Me: What does Madagascar have to do with anything?
Lizzy: I just like it.
Me: Bangs head on table.

Not to be outdone by his younger siblings, David had to get in on the "cool kid" action.

Me: David, do your math.
David: But I haven't had my yogurt yet.
Me: What have you been doing for the last half hour when you were supposed to be eating breakfast?
David: Playing.
Me: Fine.  Eat your yogurt and then get to your math.

Ten minutes later

Me: David, do your math.
David: Okay.
Me: David, stop singing.  It's hard to do math when you are singing.
David: Lots more singing and blabbering about nothing.

Hubby walks into the room to get something

Hubby: David, what are you working on?
David: Math.
Hubby: Really?  You can focus on math with all that singing and talking you're doing?
Me: Bangs head on table.


But then there was a shift as the kids got used to Daddy being around.  This morning I came out of my room after showering and getting ready to find Hubby sitting at the table explaining algebra to David.  During one of Hubby's breaks, I overheard him joking with the kids and having bear hug competitions.  (Daddy of course won all of those.)  The kids were laughing; Hubby was laughing.

Joy was reading aloud from her Bible reader to me when Hubby came into the kitchen to get coffee.  As she was reading, he started making joking comments that got her laughing and out of her pouty mood because she didn't want to read.

I was arrested by the moment when Hubby swung Joy up into his arms and tickled her.  Not by what was going on, but by the pure joy in Hubby's eyes.  It hit me that my previously stressed, overwhelmed, tired Hubby was happy, joking, and insinuating himself into our homeschooling by helping the kids with their work because he wanted to.

"Working from home really agrees with you.  You should quit your job and find one that lets you work from home."

I doubt he'll take my advice any time soon, but it has been a nice week having Hubby home.