Alright, surely you are reading this post thinking, “well, Traci has finally lost her noodle”. Give me some credit…stay just a bit longer, and hear me out.
I am married to a K9 Handler for our county’s Sheriff’s Department. Four days per week, he takes my dog to work with him. As a dog-lover myself, I’ve always been a bit jealous of him. How great would it be to have a job where you get to hang out with your best friend all day?
Of course, I could have easily titled this blog, “A Few Things That I Love About Being Home Based: Hanging Out With My Kids” – but that would have been a bit obvious, wouldn’t it? Most people who have a work-at-home career chose to join a company, or start a business for the sake of their children, but does anyone consider the welfare of the family pet(s)?
As I was typing a previous post, my dog literally stuck his wet nose under my arm and flipped it off of the keyboard. I shooed him away…and he did it again. Much like my preschoolers – he clearly wanted my attention. I stopped writing for a moment and wrested on the floor with him. I tossed him a bone and now he is sleeping on the floor next to me. I love working with him lying contently at my feet.
What if I wasn’t here for him? What if he was home alone all day? Would he destroy the house to revolt? Would he sit by the door and whimper until we returned? Even worse, would he “mark his territory” like my last dog did when we were gone?
Thankfully, I’ll never know because I am usually here to take care of him. When he has a burning desire to bark at the tiny poodle who mocks him through the broken fence…I let him out. “You go give him a piece of your mind, buddy!” When he wants to sit in the window and growl at the teenagers who are walking past our home, I open the blinds to give him a better view. “Those kids are up to something, aren’t they, pal?”
Normally, when I think about the benefits of being home based I think in terms of the “big-ticket” items like freedom and flexibility, having an extra income and being able to care for my children while I work. However, as I listen to my best-friend snore loudly at my feet it reminded me that the small things can be quite motivational too.