Mama Drama: Working from Home, Part 1

Boy, do I have oodles of Mama Drama stories.  I started to tell a few before the hurricane hit and then got sidetracked.  Remember loathsome lice?  Yep!

Well, among my mama drama stories are ones where I’m working from home.  I rarely work from home.  But every now and again I’ll have a series of kids doctors appointments or a workman for the house coming and will have to spend a day on my computer at my kitchen table.

For my Working from Home Part 1 story, I’ve got one hot of the press from yesterday.

For Part 2, I’m serving up my all time favorite working from home mama drama story.

Yesterday, I had to be at the kids school at 2 pm.  Little bit is a mini cheerleader and she would be performing at the pep rally at 2:15.  She desperately wanted me there, and I knew I could make it work in between the meetings on my calendar.

School gets out at 3 pm and I had a 3 pm work call scheduled, but I wasn’t worried because Bray would run them home while I took the call after pep rally.

Just before pep rally, he calls and says his truck had broken down in Kingwood.  For those of you familiar with Houston, Kingwood is nowhere near where we live in West Houston.

No problem.  We’d slip out of pep rally a few minutes before 3, I’d bribe the kids for some silence so I could be home to take the call from my car (our school and house are very close).

Well, pep rally went on and on and I was racing to the car with the kids at 2:58.  Luckily, it only took a couple of minutes to get home.

Meanwhile, in addition to a truck breaking down, our LONE toilet broke down before school.  You’ll remember we are remodeling and thus are down to a SINGULAR toilet.  Well, it stopped flushing.  As little bit started complaining on our drive about how badly she needed to go to the bathroom, I rounded the corner to see the plumber parked in front of our house.

Plumber. Hmmm.

Good news: probably means toilet being fixed.

Bad news: probably means toilet not currently available.

I call into my meeting, put my phone on mute, and we all race inside the house.  Sure enough, the toilet was off the pipe entirely and a very large and loud machine appears to be excavating dinosaurs from the way down depths.

By now, I do need to be speaking on this work call I set up the day before thinking I’d have nothing but focus and time.  I race to the front yard to talk to my clients while little bit hops around on one foot saying she really needs to go.  I spy the across the street neighbor’s house and say a little prayer our wonderful retired friends are home.

She and I race across the street.  Phone goes back on mute as our gracious neighbor answers the door.  I explain in less than 30 seconds our plight, little bit races into their house to use the bathroom, and I go back to talking to my clients in the foyer of my neighbor’s home.  His precious wife offers to come help but I think by now I have it under control.  I redeliver this child to the house, go to tell the kids I’ll be in the driveway on the call, but then I can’t find one.

One kid is missing.  We have (loud) workmen all over our house.  In addition to the plumber, we have the remodeling contractors. Then the owner/designer of the company remodeling our house shows up.  She motions she needs to talk to me.

Um. Okay.

I’m on a work call.  I’m missing a kid.  I have zero toilets in my house for an undefined period of time which could go south at any moment.

So, I just shrug and walk away because I’m still needed on the call and should at least attempt to locate the missing child.  Joy! He’s hiding in my bedroom on the iPad.  I don’t even care at this point.  I mute the line, beg them all to stay in the house, and walk into the garage to complete my call.

Sage advice dispensed, I’m sure.

Anyone else?!?!

(Prologue: $250 later the toilet began flushing again.  Large dark mass extracted. I didn’t ask. Call ended. I have follow ups. Owner/designer left before I could finish. Neighbors hopefully still will open the door when we knock.)