Working From (Someone Else's) Home

I got a text from Son Brian (who lives in Columbia Missouri) last Tuesday which said they'd had quite a wind storm overnight. There were fallen tree limbs all over the neighborhood, and a house down the street even had a tree fall on the roof. Both his electricity and the Internet were out, which was a problem because he works from home.

When I checked with him later in the week there was still no electricity or Internet, and he'd heard it could be several more days. In the meantime he and Wife Nicole were sleeping in the basement where it was cooler and he was using a combination of store and coffee shop hot spots, the library, and a friend's house to get his work done. Their power came back on Thursday afternoon, but there was still no Internet. Brian said that Nicole had a business trip, flying out of St. Louis Sunday and returning Tuesday. If he drove in with her could he stay at our house?

Of course the answer was YES!  Sunday morning Brian showed up with their dog Yves, and her traveling things. She's been at our house enough that the cats coexist with her, but they still gave her a less than enthusiastic greeting before they went upstairs to nap. Brian also brought a ham for dinner-one of the few things they were able to salvage from their freezer.

It's been great having Brian around. Everyone's gotten to spend quality time with him. My time has been in the morning-yesterday before I went to work and today when I skipped my usual trip to the gym. The 'polar vortex' cold front came through yesterday and this morning it was cool and comfortable. Brian took a break from work so he and I could take a walk.

It's amazing how fast the time flew. When I left for work today I knew Brian would be gone when I got home. The cats will be happy to have the whole house to themselves again. The rest of us-not so happy.

Five years ago today: Use It Or Lose It...