The other night Drew and I were hanging out and talking. He was telling me about this work trip he was going on where the would be wined (literally) and dined and get to spend the night at a ski resort as a team. I smiled, nodded, wished I could fit in his suitcase, and tried to not turn green with envy. You see, the truth of the matter is, my dogs make lousy co-workers (sorry Tuck and Chloe, but you seriously sleep all day long.) I sat there and thought to myself about my days spent in solitude where the only company I keep comes in the form of the Real Housewives of Jersey – and let’s be honest, I don’t get a word in edgewise. I can never, ever, ever complain about working for myself from home, honestly, it is my favorite accomplishment on the planet but at times I wish that I had some people around me to laugh with, eat lunch with, and avoid work with. Solitude can get lonely (except at nap time, then I am thankful I am alone then.)
The cool thing about owning your own business is that you are your boss, but it can also get a little lonely and isolating at times. I laugh at myself during the “off season” because I rarely leave the house beyond going to the gym. It’s like I forget what it’s like to put real pants (i.e. jeans not yoga pants) on and hold a conversation with anyone other than a four legged fur ball. On days where I have zero interaction I find myself talking out loud to my computer screen and acting as if that is completely normal. I think back to my days with Target when we would lock ourselves into the office, laugh, talk about dinner, and eat gummy worms. We would giggle as we emailed each other from the other room and had more inside jokes about life than thirteen year olds do with their girlfriends. It certainly was never lonely, that’s for sure. No one cares about what lens I am lusting after or the annoyances of retouching every image, people don’t understand blogging or social media posts, I am on an island of one and I need a margarita.
So next time you imagine running your own business as a job that allows you get brunch with mimosa, travel to Bali at the drop of a hat, and mingle in party dresses with the industry, remember that the day in and day out looks a lot like sitting home alone in sweatpants drinking protein shakes and pretending that you are friends with Beyonce as you tap along to her tunes and write notes to the interwebs…. yeah, it isn’t glamorous but it sure is interesting. So tonight I am throwing an office party complete with wine, pups, and an employee of the month certificate for myself – since let’s be honest, I win it every single month. (That isn’t saying much, the pups suck at pulling their own weight!)
Yup, you should probably keep on reading. Enjoy and stay awhile:
