Tales from the Home Office

Want to share a funny story about working from home? Printed entries will receive a $10 Dunkin’ gift card. Stories can be kept anonymous. Write to mmowry@BusinessNHMagazine.com with subject line “Tales From the Home Office” and your contact info. If you’ve got a photo, send that along, too.

This first one comes from Rebecca L. Bryant, president and CEO of Lakes Region Community Services:

When I work from home, I often lock my door so that my high school and college children do not interrupt. One day, I had been tied all day to Zoom meetings. Earlier that morning, my very senior cat had curled up under my desk. I even forgot about him. Then around 6:30 p.m., in the middle of a Virtual Legislative “Meet & Greet” that my organization hosted, I stretched my legs and my foot hit something. I realized it was my cat, still in the same corner, and not moving.

We know a 17-year-old cat’s days are numbered. Still, I was horrified to think he might have died and been there all day without me realizing he was dead! Live with legislators, I couldn’t look under my desk. I tried to sniff, thinking, oh gosh, I wonder if he smells? I thought about texting my teen and asking them to crawl under and check, but the door was locked. So, I had to keep a straight face and carry on, wondering the whole time if my cat was dead. (It turns out he wasn’t, his number still wasn’t up.)