The three months I have lived with my parents and little sister opened my eyes to just how much I work–and how hard it is for me to tear myself away from my work. After a painful and dramatic breakup, I left Baltimore to come back to my hometown of Austin in the middle of my sister’s twin pregnancy. For the first time in 10 years, my entire four-person nuclear family was under the same roof. My mom goes off to work every day, but my dad is retired and my sister is very pregnant. Thus, from November to mid-February, I worked from home while my dad and sister were also at home.

“Sissy, you still working?” Tameka would often ask around 6 pm, peeking into my room as a I sat hunched over my Macbook Pro.

“Yep, I still have another call and need to check some email,” I would often say as Tameka gently shut the door and drifted to the living room to pet the dogs.

My family is very respectful of my space while I work from home, but having someone there to see  me working has really shown me just how much I do. Furthermore, knowing that in just a few weeks–days even–my sister will be the single mother of twin newborns has made me much more aware of the term quality time and why it’s not just the quality of the time you spend with the people you love but the quantity as well.

Read more…