Does Mom Ever Get to Watch Netflix?

We live in a small house. We didn't mean to still be in a small house, aka our starter home, at this point in our lives. It just sort of happened, and as people headed off to college it didn't make much sense to upsize to have space for winter and summer breaks and rattle around the rest of the year. Hindsight is always 2020 . . .

Andrew has worked from home on Fridays since last summer, he has all the equipment and security he needs, so switching to fulltime at home work hasn't been an issue. It did take a few days for him to settle into his permanent home location, but he is now restricted to the basement. He spends literally all day on phone calls and Skype, and apparently the rest of us tend toward disruptive and noisy. I guess that doesn't work for him. He's the only one actually earning money right now, so he rates the quietest space. Conveniently, the laundry is also down there, so with good planning pretty much anyone can start a load and get Andrew to move it to the dryer. Not so conveniently, our only television is located in Andrew's workspace. And, is attached to the wall.

Upstairs, we have three bedrooms for four children. The problems have already started! Tim is fine, has his own room, a desk, a chair, and plenty of well-located outlets. Sabine also has her own room, which her sisters complain about endlessly. Mind you, they have no interest in sharing with her -- she is pretty messy -- but they don't hesitate to notice the unfairness of the youngest sister having her own space! Linnea and Caroline currently share, but only have one desk. Everyone has headphones and earbuds, but who wants to have on headphones while on a video chat? Apparently, not these kids!

Downstairs, we have a dining room table and a desk, neither of which is anywhere near an outlet, so cords to computers are stretching everywhere. If we get through this pandemic without a computer hitting the ground after a cord gets tripped over, I will be amazed! I can't exactly keep track of who prefers working downstairs to upstairs, because everytime I look, a different person is sitting in a different place, including the couch. Sometimes using a computer, sometimes on a phone, but occasionally using actual pen and paper. Who knew?

Even with everyone settled into a location, there are still issues to resolve.

"Shh!! Dad's on a call!"
"I need to Zoom at 9:00."
"But, I need to Zoom at 9:30, will you be done?"
"That's three people, no one else can stream then."
"But I need to download my video lecture!!"
"But I need to Skype with my TA!!"
"What are you doing on the computer? Are you streaming?"
"Who is using the microwave?!?! You are killing the internet!!"
"I'm just trying to warm up my coffee!"
"You CANNOT use the microwave without checking with us!!"
"Ugh. Am I ever going to get to finish watching that thing on YouTube?"
"Who unplugged my charger? My phone is going to die!"
"Where is my charger?"
"Whose charger is this?"
"I need to use that outlet!"
"Why are you working down here?"
"She's in my room, on Zoom, not on mute."
"Ugh. Why can't you be on mute? You're so disruptive!"
"Where are my headphones?"
"My headphones aren't working, can I use yours?"

Where is Mom in all this? Not on Netflix, that's for sure! All those awesome shows available for streaming right now? No way, not enough bandwith for that! I can Zoom, but really only in the evenings, unless it is really important and I get permission for a limited time. But definitely not in a room with the door closed, because all those spaces are taken. "What could you possibly need to talk to people about on a video anyway, Mom??" (Insert eyeroll)

And where did I type this blog post? Sitting on the bottom step in the living room, next to an outlet. Because someone unplugged my charger . . .