No School 4 Her, No Work 4 Me!

My daughter is home sick today.

As I write this, she is sitting across from me trying to remove barbecue sauce from the bread of a Quiznos sandwich that I picked up for her on the way home from running errands. Actually, at this point, she has removed everything from the sandwich and is just eating the bread.

It's weird having one of the kids home during the day -- a throwback to the years when they weren't in school and working from home was extremely difficult. But back then, I figured out how to work in spurts, during naps and viewings of Blue's Clues. Now, I feel a bit rusty, having been spoiled by the vastness that is the six-hour school day. So when Helena stops by my desk to see me, as she often does, to say, "Whatcha dooooin'?" it takes me a few minutes to recapture my train of thought and get back into the groove of work.

In other words, my productivity is taking a nosedive today, especially now that Helena has abandoned her sandwich and has decided to sharpen all the pencils we have in the house. Is it any surprise that the pencil sharpener is right next to my laptop?