So Not Meant to Work from Home

For the 4th of July, due to circumstances outside of my control (read: consistent patterns of incompetence upstream in the process), I had to make plans to be available for work.  The husband's plant was shut down and he hadn't been home since last 4th or seen his maternal grandparent's in a year and a half.  Although his grandpa still acts like he's young (rodeo, farming, etc.) his grandma has Alzheimer's.  It's not bad at this point (she can still talk on the phone & recognizes him) but it highlights the importance of making memories while things are still good.

Cody snapped a picture of this baby deer while golfing in Nebraska.

Cody's grandparents' cat...a long-haired Spook.

He called to arrange a visit for the holiday.  Sometimes it can be frustrating dealing with his family because of all the people that might have (yet unknown) plans with each other.  And when ticket prices jumped, the husband became a bit non-committal as well.  Finally, I told him I was booking him a ticket and he'd better get things figured out.

Mom & Dad at the Port of Charleston.

The husband's plane took off at 7:20 on the 3rd...which meant leaving the house at 4:30 to get him to the airport.  I made him drive because he'd get to sleep on the plane while I was headed into work.

Mother inexplicably deciding to try on both my helmet & my hat.

The office was pretty quiet that day with just a few of us working...until they started testing the fire alarms.  That was the beginning of the end for me.  Once home, I knew I needed to create a space to work in for the next two days.  I spent the next several hours cleaning the spare bedroom and taking care of the kitchen and living room, since it'd be easy to just pick up this one thing...why am I only this neat when I shouldn't be?

Cody visited our friend Sam and her chaotic children in Omaha.

Working from home is not something I can ever see choosing for myself, but it did teach me about my focus (which is lousy) and taking breaks (especially when you can become distracted with nothing) and that working with people really is my path.  I've known for awhile that I'm a people person, but who would have thought it years ago?  Cody sent me a few pictures of his travels, but most of the time was isolated.

Old cobblestone streets in Charleston.

On Friday afternoon, I took off for Charleston.  My dad's birthday is the 8th and instead of a gift, I elected to visit.  I also offered dinner and was countered with the request to make bruschetta...however, apparently they were expecting both.  They both also had prime rib for dinner...

Saturday we went for an early run (me) and walk (them) on a nearby trail.  Then we headed to downtown Charleston.  We explored the market & walked by the cool old houses.  My mother and I bought hats from a hat store, after trying on dozens of them.  We had oysters downtown but ran out of energy before dinner and headed back to Summerville.

Our new hats & walking along the Port of Charleston.

On Sunday, I had to make the (apparently) promised bruschetta & then hurry back to Charlotte to pick the husband up at the airport.  We then proceeded immediately to the Cirque de Soleil show Quidam.  The show was awesome, although taking my husband to a show is apparently similar to taking a child.  "Did you see that?!"  "That was a cool drop!!"  But after explaining to him that I was both watching the show and aware of the aerial moves going on, he settled down.