“For some, working at home is a welcome change of pace,” said the news today.
I nearly gagged.
Honestly, for me, working at home is something I do only if I absolutely have to (i.e the kids are sick, or a plumber is coming, or there’s a school thing on in the middle of the day)
Right now, at this moment in time….I HATE working from home.
I hate it so much I would rather drive the 45 mins to my office every single day.
This is because I live in a tiny house with nowhere to really shut myself away The other members of my household don’t actually understand that when I’m working – it means they can’t talk to me. Not ever. Not at all. It means they need to shush, to be quiet so I can concentrate on my work or take a conference call without having to apologise for the screaming fits of insane meltdowns going outside the door.
To be honest – It’s hell. Absolute hell.
Especially in these latest trying Covi-19 times when I have 2 homebound girls trying to get schoolwork done, not to mention music practice, exercise and some semblance of relaxation time without pissing off, upsetting, setting on the toes of or generally pissing off the other members of the household just because they can. It certainly doesn’t help to have a house full whilst having to try and concentrate. In the future, this might be different. If I had a bigger house, or an actual study with a door I can shut (and lock).
On top of that – I miss the banter with my colleagues, I miss my coffee catch-ups, I miss my team!
Ask any SAHM what the biggest drawback of being at home with kids is, I bet you’ll always get the same answer. The loneliness. The fact that the only people you have deep and meaningful conversations with on a daily basis think that discussions about sandwiches cut into squares or triangles is important.
You need human contact. You need to talk, to laugh, to chat, to have proper discussions with grown-ups. To actually have conversations that don’t involve “Stop It! All of you! I can’t hear myself think!” or “No, you can’t have an ice block it’s only 8 am!” or “Honestly, if you really do have to practice your biology dissections on your sister for god’s sake don’t use my good scissors!”.
This virus and its effect on our society is driving me up the wall. I hate the fact they are calling our need to stay at home social distancing… IT IS NOT!! YOU NEED to be social! You need to get out of the house – interact with other adults, tell jokes, have a pun war, get some fresh air and exercise, yell across the fence to your neighbors… do whatever the hell you have too to keep yourself sane.
Isolation might be a good fix for controlling the spread of a virus but its absolute murder on people’s emotional and mental stability.
In these times more than ever you need to take care of your mental health. Not just for your own sake but that of your kids, your family and your workmates too.
Just Be You, Everyday
