working from home requires tactical training

Perhaps Jonathan would be a better one to be writing this post, but this is an important flavor of our lives right now and I want to remember it.  

Jonathan works from home.  This means he is here, and not here.  Tangible, yet so frustratingly unattainable.  Both Charlie and I come up with excuses all day long to “interrupt” him so that we can talk to him.   Of course I like to think I am pretty good at camouflaging and limiting my suspect motives.  Charlie is not subtle at all and it is really funny.  

His favorite ploy is to go in and start asking about Jonathan’s screen saver pictures.  These are a series of truly fascinating pictures of space, planets and space shuttles etc.   I’ve noticed Jonathan can’t pass up a chance to chat about moons and planets and the international space station.    He loves instilling the love of space in Charlie! Sometimes the instruction even spills over into a few U-Tube videos (with Charlie on his lap) for a proper understanding of the subject at hand.  (1-Charlie, 0-Dada)

Another tactic, usually employed when Charlie’s attempt to lure Jonathan into a conversation has been rebuffed is to watch the computer screen while leaning on Jonathan’s right arm, the mouse hand.  This means Jonathan can’t move his mouse without moving Charlie.  (2-Charlie, 0-Dada)

When those tricks are deployed to no effect, Charlie chooses from either the “fiddle and fidget”  or “roll on the bed” strategy.   “Fiddle and fidget” involves opening and closing desk drawers or the different plastic parts of the printer tray.  It usually ends when he picks up some small sharp, potentially dangerous article and/or touches Dada’s earphones and is told to leave the bedroom.  (2.5-Charlie, .5-Dada)

“Roll on the bed”  is exactly that.  (Jonathan’s ‘office’ is in our bedroom)  This seemingly innocent action has the strange power of reminding Jonathan that the state law provides him  at least one 15 minute break a day.   That 15 minute break is necessary so that he can wrastle his two year-old into submission on the bed!  Much giggling and bouncing and screaming commence.  (4-Charlie, 0-Dada)

But the ‘shock and awe’ of Charlie’s attention grabbing campaign is chair stealing.  Every time Jonathan gets up from his desk chair to go to the bathroom or get a cup of coffee, Charlie makes a beeline for the office.   And when Jonathan returns, there he is, sitting proudly on his chair, saying “I sitting on you chair, Dada,” with a great big grin on his face, knowing that Jonathan will have to interact with him before he gets back to work.  (5-Charlie, 0-Dada)

Today, I overheard from the office, where Jonathan was trying to work, and Charlie was doing his best to prevent it:  “Charlie, what are you up to?”  “I up to you, Dada!”