Regular readers of this blog know that I am hoping to be on a sabbatical leave during academic year 2008-2009. Indeed, some of you have asked, “Where are you going to go?”
The answer:
My brand new desk at home.
As it turns out, it has been years since I’ve had a proper desk of my own at home. The computer table that functioned as my desk for the last year of my chemistry studies pretty much became community property once the sprogs arrived. (You’d be amazed at how quickly babies become territorial about computers.) This means that much of my philosophy dissertation was hammered out on my laptop at the neighborhood cafe.
Since the sprogs, much of the work I’ve done at home has been accomplished with the laptop actually on my lap, or with the aid of clipboards (for grading). But I decided that wasn’t going to fly for the semi-scary project of trying to hammer out and polish a couple books. So I have seized a corner in the living room at Casa Free-Ride and installed a desk that will, I hope, establish a physical locus for my important brain work.
This will not be without its challenges. While Virginia Woolf may have gotten a room of her own, my desk is in a room of the house that is considered shared space. And the sprogs have a sense of justice that makes sharing central. A few years ago, I torqued my knee pretty badly (dancing at a party my thesis advisor was throwing to celebrate his departure from the area; sadly, I had left the party by the time the cops arrived to shut it down). I came back from the doctor’s with a cane, and at the door, the younger Free-Ride offspring snatched it from me and ran off to play with it. The elder Free-Ride offspring issued a stern reprimand: “That cane is for us to share with Mommy!”
Which is to say, my admonitions that the new desk is a sacred space in which Mommy will be doing Very Important Work haven’t completely kept their grubby mitts off of it so far. Nor has the clearly visible fact of my sitting at the desk and working been enough to discourage them from playing loudly two feet away from me. We’re going to be reviewing what it means to give someone space to do her work.
In related news, I discovered that the teenager who lives next door has a rock band that practices in the garage. I hope he has a summer job lined up.
I have enjoyed reading your blog and found many interesting things to think about regarding ethics. However, I wonder if you haven’t let your children get out of hand here. Why does everything have to be shared? While sharing is great it certainly isn’t always the answer.
What about the notion of respect? Even kids can learn to respect parent’s (and others) space, time, projects and property. In fact, I think respect is a very valuable skill and often lacking. It works both ways – kids respect you, you respect kids.
As an adult I would not let my space be ruled by kids, however charming they may be.
But I heard there were birthday presents on your desk this morning…where are they???
Happy birthday and happy desk. Next a long work table, a large white board and a large cork board to organize thoughts. And maybe some ear plugs for the band and/or the Sprogs.
It’s not that it doesn’t penetrate. It has no trouble penetrating. It’s just that there’s really nothing there for it to grab hold of. As capable as the sprogs are, they’re not that capable. We are, after all, talking about young primates, and things do have a habit of slipping their minds. I think you’ll find that a child care program is even more imperative now than it had been before. For your sanity if nothing else.
As many a mother has said of her darling progeny, “If only they weren’t so cute.”
Oh Janet, as a freelace writer Mom working from a home office, just a few suggestions (you can take them or toss them):
As your mom noted – GET A BIG WORK TABLE! The idea of working from that little drop-down with big piles of paper surrounding you on the floor (and getting stepped on continously by sprogs) is NOT functional in any way, shape, or form. No, trust me, I’ve lived with those piles and regret every minute spent in that fire trap!
You need a filing cabinet, a work table (where you can tape off a section of the tabletop for sprog access if you want them to share your workspace), and somewhere safer for that mug (they spill, you know).
Does that drop-down shelf lock up? If so, be sure you shut it down during the time the sprogs are around. I know, I know, they want to watch you work. However, they will also find that accessible space (and computer) to be fun to get into when you are…fixing dinner, taking a bathroom break, reading the mail, sleeping in on a Sunday morning…you get my drift, right? I’ve walked into my office space to find the backs of my drafted documents covered with very special drawings done in SHARPIE marker, and the computer locked up when someone tried to use a drawing program, run a DVD, and access the internet simultaneously (and then wandered away without telling me that they had crashed the system while I was sending a huge document to a client). Of course, this episode occurred when I was emptying backpacks after school (usually a 5-minute process). Just be warned…rather than being the “mean Mom” when things crash around you, be the “safe Mom” and set up boundaries now.
Just a few ideas from a freelance writer for over 11 years who is also a mother of twin 11-yr-old “terrorist” sprogs (yep, you do the math!).
Lovely desk!
Though since I am the sort to find any amount of horizontal space finding a workly mess to fill it- it does seem a touch small. Giant project tables… mmmm…
Is the teenager by any chance responsible enough to be employed minding sprogs (even if it’s a “keep them busy while I work” minding rather then a “here’s the keys to Casa Free-Ride, I’ll be back in 6 hours” minding)?
First off … I LOVE your blog!
and it would seem that you and hubby are super parents.
Second: Honey, you DEFINITELY need a larger desk. I know you must really like your new one, but it is way too small for your needs (and i’m not even a scientist! tee hee hee). Plus, you have those wonderfully inquisitive kids, so you KNOW they will ‘get all into the business‘ and the coffee mug WILL spill on your computer (Murphy’s Law) and you WILL only have yourself to blame (Occam’s Razor?). So get a larger desk before you have to write a post entitled “They Told Me So!”
Third: Every time i read about your ‘sprogs’ i think ‘Wow, that kid is smart as a whip!’ Truly enjoy reading your blog (did i mention that?
Wishing you loads of productivity on your sabbatical!