We're snowed in today and there is no school tomorrow as well. I can and therefore will work from home, so I can't take any time off tomorrow to go sledding with the kids or anything. Honestly not that I'd want to, I actually don't like snow. If our travel ban is lifted I may be able to get them to friends' houses, but chances are good that we'll all be home-bound tomorrow as well, with me working and the kids in and out of the house all day. I'll get a little stir-crazy but it's not a big deal.
My husband, though, can't wait to get out LOL. He spent a few hours outside today clearing snow, then took a nap, and right now is itching to go somewhere, anywhere. He just cannot be at home for an entire day. Never has been able to. He can't wait to go to work tomorrow.
I let my team at work know that they could work at home tomorrow if they preferred but that the building would most likely be open. Several of them, more men than women, replied that they were going stir-crazy at their houses and would go into the office tomorrow if at all possible. These guys don't even have kids, but working at home in their PJs got old after a couple of hours.
So just wondering...how much "at home" time can you stand? I used to work from home 3 days a week but still usually got out a few times a day to drop someone off, pick someone up, etc. I'd say I could be home for a couple of days without feeling cut off from the world. How about you? Are you and your spouse/SO on the same page?
Such interesting answers, and I love reading about how many of you live in private spots with property that can keep you busy! Where I am is so densely populated that having more than a half-acre of land is an extravagance so I can't imagine wandering through my property (which is 1/3 of an acre). The travel ban was lifted last night so my younger boys got to spend the day playing at a friend's house while I got some work done. Back to reality tomorrow...yay for school!
I could easily be one of those people who could spend years in the house and never leave it.
I know what's out there and I don't feel like I'm missing anything.
I'm happy in my own company and I don't need others to validate who I am or how I'm doing.
I have lots of books and dvds.
Someday I'll eventually be a reclusive hermit.
A good week or two. I have so many sewing projects that that would be the tip of the iceberg to start. I work now and don't have enough time to sit still long enough to get any major sewing done. But soon I hope to.
I used to be snowed in in Canada and enjoyed it. Yes, I would get outside and shovel the snow and come back inside and change all my clothes as they were wet from shoveling. It felt good to have done that and gotten some exercise at the same time.
A day home with a good book, a pot of soup/stew, a fireplace and a sewing machine. Now that is living.
the other S.
PS I have been snowed in with kids and still did not lose my mind. We just did quiet things in the house. My son would love to "live' outdoors when he was little and would come in as a human snowball. If you live in that kind of climate you have to learn to love the weather and enjoy it.
I'm pretty introverted, so as long as I have books and internet, I'm good for weeks. Lol.
I love being snowed in. I love being cozy in my PJs and just hanging out with my kids. If I had enough wine and a good pot of soup, I could stay snowed in for days!
My husband is like yours- chomping at the bit to get out. He would shovel the driveway just to get out of the house. He's good for about a day, and then he gets antsy and ready to go back to work.
Hang in there, J B.! Hopefully, you'll be out soon! :)
hee hee! i am a homebody! i LOVE my little farm, and cabin fever is just not an issue for me. well, i guess it would be eventually, but it takes a LONG time. i loved last week- for 3 full days i had no reason to leave home, and i snuggled in happily.
i'm betting it would take at least a week of going absolutely nowhere before i'd feel a pull to go somewhere else.
my dh has a much shorter tolerance. if he has to work from home for 2 days he's pulling at the bit to get out and gone. and i tell you true, if he's been under my feet for that long i'm just as happy to see his tail lights head down the driveway. :)
but i've been an empty nester for a few years now, and have become very attached to my quiet and solitude. it's amazing when the kids come home, but the volume and mess and lack of aloneness wears on me much more quickly than when i was in the throes of child-rearing.
i honestly think i could be in a little cabin on top of a mountain somewhere and just venture down once a month for supplies, all by my own self. maybe i have a romantic idea of it. probably.
but it sounds pretty nice.
:) khairete
S. (who does leave home to run, but doesn't count that)
For me the difference is having a choice. I can easily stay home for weeks at a time, as long as it's because I choose to. Right now, however, being stuck here because of the snow, I'm feeling trapped, and a bit stir crazy. I will most definitely be shoveling my way to at least a walk around the block tomorrow.
Oh my gosh I'm with B. I could be home forever. So many things to do, love being able to do them. Alas,it'll never happen.
How long could I be home without going insane? It all depends upon who is home WITH me....
I can stay home a long time. I stay home for days at a time if you don't count picking kids up from school. Then again I live in temperate climate with a huge garden. If I lived where there was winter, and real snow in a house with kids? Thats another story.
I love being home :-) there is so just so much to do, and never enough time to just enjoy it all. 5 days, and then I need to get out....but I'm trained. I use to work on campus two days a week. I would then have 5 days at home to myself.
We leave the house most days, though. We stayed home today, and the kids did so many great activities.
I love being at home. I have my art studio here, I constantly have projects I'm working on, I'm never bored. And we live along a wooded ravine with deer and fox, so if I need fresh air, I might go for a walk, but otherwise, I'm happy at home. Our house is perfectly set up for me. My son is just like me - happy to be home. My daughter and my husband get antsy after a few hours and wants to go out.
LOTS. I can stand LOTS of "at home" time. There is really only ONE thing I *like* to leave my house for: tennis. I DO leave my house, obviously. I go out a lot. But given the choice, I'd stay home. I love my house, I'm about as homebody-ish as someone can be. I don't know what if feels like to "be itching to go out". I simply can't relate.
My husband likes staying home, too, but sometimes he says "let's DO something". Which is fine with me, but then he wants me to plan it. No thanks. I don't want to "do something" that badly.
Interestingly, we never argue over this, though. He says "Let's DO something." I say "Nah, but you go ahead." He says "Well, I'm kinda tired, actually." or "Some buddies of mine are meeting at a bar. Think I'll go see them." Either way, I get to stay home, he gets to do what he wants to do. We're pretty amicable about this.
I am good for three or four days then I am out of here!
24hrs.
I HAVE to get out to do something (take the kids to the park, go grocery
shopping, go for a walk etc.).
If I was snowed in it would have to be different but it would suck for me.
;)
My hubby has a hard time, too.
If I was snowed in, I would go outside to shovel the walk etc. unless it
was a blizzard. I draw the line somewhere.
We are both homebody's over here. I could stay inside or close to home in the woods/field forever...well, I've never tested that, since I have way too many obligations outside the property. Wish I could take a staycation for a week and really stick to it. Not saying we don't go outside for fresh air and a walk or sports near the house...but if you count that, I could stay home all the time. Bring me food and I'll be all set. We work from home too. I do have an adventurous side though, that speaks up for fun vacations and day trips, so maybe I wouldn't last as long as I'd think.
Seems like most of the answers don't factor in working for a job and having kids. Staying home is not a time to read, sew, catch up on household time. You're going to have to find a way to do both work and manage kids' activities. I might last a day. I'd find a way to manage for a longer time but I would be frazzled.
I too like to stay home but not with snow, work and kids.
I don't mind being at home during bad weather. We had an ice storm last year that kept us off the roads for close to a week.
I had my cats and dogs, plenty of coffee and comfort food, my knitting, my laptop/tv, and my lover.
3 days, tops. That's the max.
100% depends on my mood. Sometimes I can stay home all weekend and just do house stuff or relax and other times by 9am on Saturday if we aren't going somewhere I go stir crazy. It just really depends.
In general though, I like to be active. I am working with a broken ankle right now so too much walking hurts....which is making me even more stir crazy.
You need to move from Boston if you don't love the snow :). It's the one thing that keeps me from looking for work there, honestly. Boston is home for me and I would love to go back, but I don't like winter anymore, that much. I do want at least one good storm a year, but for me that's 6 inches at a time.
Not long. A few hours, a day? I need to get out into the world.
The only time I ever spend an entire day at home is if I am too sick to get out of bed. Even if I am snowed in I am out for a walk visiting the neighbours. My husband could spend the entire weekend at home in his pj's.
I work from home part-time and love it! Far more productive at home than I was at the office. I get out a lot each day, though. Between dropping off/picking up kids, walking the dog and yoga class at lunch one day a week, I don't feel isolated. I also make time to meet up with people for lunch and I'm busy with kid activities and errands after work, too.
Staying at home with the kids is another story. I just don't have the patience to be a full-time stay-at-home mom. I really need the satisfaction of my work.
My husband doesn't like working from home and goes to the office instead. As a business owner, he started off working from home when the company was small, but he moved to an office as soon as he could. He likes being around his employees.
Oh a day at best unless I had the house to myself for a day now that be something I could do
