“George, you need to think about retirement,” the boss suggested yesterday.
Not George! Here George gets twenty peaceful minutes before clocking in. A time to sit in the early sun; a time to look at the newspaper; a time to escape!
A shiver ran down his spine as he thought about staying home all day. Home was now for Beatrice and her three kids, two dogs, and six gerbils. Six!
“Work from home,” Bea says. “Home school,” Bea says. “I can’t afford my rent,” Bea says.
George was glad he had a job at a place Big Gov calls essential.
Written for Friday Fictioneers, a 100 word picture prompt challenge, hosted by Rochelle. https://rochellewisoff.com/
PHOTO PROMPT © Roger Bultot
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About oneta hayes
ABOUT ME
Hello. To various folks I am Neat’nee, Mom, Grandma Neta, Gramma, Aunt Neta, Aunt Noni, Aunt Neno, and Aunt Neto (lots of varieties from little nieces and nephews). To some I’m more like “Didn’t you used to be my teacher?” or “Don’t I know you from someplace?” To you, perhaps, I am a Fellow Blogger. Not “fellow” like a male or a guy, but “fellow” like a companion or an adventurer. I would choose to be Grandma Blogger, and have you pull up a chair, my website before you, while I tell you of some days of yore. I have experienced life much differently than most of you. It was and is a good life. I hope to share nuggets of appreciation for those who have gone before me and those who come after me. By necessity you are among those who come after me and I will tell you of those who came before. Once upon a time in a little house on a prairie - oops, change that lest I commit plagiarism - and change that “house on the prairie” to “dugout on the prairie.” So my story begins...
Sweet aroma 
Hurrah for essential workers
Escape! My family is affected by four girl home schooled. Crazy.
Ah, essential work. What a blessing if we all could have that designation.
Blessings!
A group of handicapped teens making decorations out of Christmas cards is very essential work. It is just not essential to the powerful. So they go back to their community rooms to spend isolated time. Sad. Is that happening? I don’t know, but I bet it is.
It is very sad. It seems to be the ultimate of hubris to be able to say some are essential and some are not. I’m praying. Blessings.
Agreed. Have a blessed day.
OUR WORLD IS NOW BLESSED WITH SO MANY ESSENTIAL WORKERS. I THANK GOD FOR ALL OF THEM, BUT WE ARE ALL ESSENTIAL IN GOD’S EYES AND I THANK HIM FOR THAT AS WELL. WE ALL SERVE A PURPOSE – SOME MORE THAN OTHERS.
Some people do have a broader range of influence in matters of life and death. Those we see as more necessary, and it is likely true. Parable of Talents would support that, I think. But all work done honorably is paid the same reward by our Father – another parable. The Bible does have a lot to say, doesn’t it?
Getting out and breathing solitude is so beneficial
Yes, I wish I would be self disciplined enough to be an early riser. I’m not too bad. I wake quickly but I do so late. 😀 Really that has not been my life; it is my retired life.
A-MEN to all comments as well as fictioneers example. If at ALL ages folks were taught to value the times of solitude and PEACE with God then no changes in life will ever faze them. They will value and rejoice in every day whatever, wherever.
Thank you Oneta.
I answered this but apparently it went sky-ward before I was ready. Anyway I said something like this. A quiet time of meditation, evaluation, and planning leads to a less stressful and better organized life. It is vitally important to Christians as a part of a growing relationship with Jesus.
Such ambivalence reading your story. On the one hand he gets away from ruckus at home. On the other he exposes himself to a deadly disease by being an essential worker. Good telling of where a lot of people are right now.
Yes, it is very true to life for many people. We must find a balance between being a puppet in bondage to fear and a wise person who tends to recklessness.
Work is a good thing.
Yes, it is. An assignment first given to Adam by God in his animal naming responsibility. Work did not become “labor” until sin entered the picture.
George has the right idea. Hang onto your sanity, George.
Amen. A smidgen of self-isolation caused no problem to anyone except George who was willing to get up early enough to indulge himself.
Even I would prefer risk of infection to six gerbils 🙂
Smiling. They kept those wheels a-rollin.
Beatrice sounds like a right pain in the kiester. I don’t blame him for not wanting to retire.
I hadn’t really delved into Bea’s situation much until I Na’Ama’s comment below. Up to this covid crisis time, I think most “Bea” problems were a result of wrong choices. Now, not so much. There would be fewer Bea’s if young people would use some wisdom or seek some counseling regarding “Bob’s” in their lives. 😀
Essential work in more ways than one by the sound of things at home! Nice one.
My story!
I always enjoy a run by your FF posts. You are sure to give me something to think about. Thanks for checking my FF also. That work at home is very essential! But it is often without enough accountability and kids learn to live in disorder when that happens. They used to say “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” I don’t really think that is true, but as a general rule, my opinion I confess, a dirty, cluttered house is stressful to anyone. Even those who are used to it. No one can convince me it is not stressful to have to look fifteen minutes for shoes and homework before going to school.
With such a busy household, I can imagine the peace george has at work.
Thanks for commenting, James. I like our FF community of writers. Always a lot of variety and I am awed by the many angles from which the picture is viewed. Your story this week was extremely well done with its memories theme. I am always hesitant to “like” any writing that presents suicide as a way out. I probably did however, mark a like because I do like your writings very much.
My thoughts were not of suicide in the story, but more of a realisation his time had come. I can see now how you have read it, I will be more careful next time. Thank you for pointing out your view. I do not advocate such types of stories either, but have slipped up here. Sorry.
Oh, thanks, for the explanation. I will reread with an eye to a less tragic answer.
Best to you. I’ll watch for you in FF. — I did go read, and I see how you could just be saying he realized his death is near.
Don’t quote me, but I think it was Roland Barthes (French Literary theorist) who wrote an essay “The Death of the Author”. His point was simple – the reader decides the meaning depending how they read the narrative- the author in this respect has lost control of the text.
I should know better.
Many thanks.
Worthwhile thought. Thanks.
Some people sure need to get out of the house to stay sane … then again, perhaps Bea can use a hand, eh?
Yes, Bea would probably be happy to use Pops as a baby sitter. Not likely to want his advice, however. Now I sound like I’ve been
there, huh? Things are changing and will get worse. But in the past “moving back home with three kids” generally was a necessity because of not listening to Pops in the first place. Probably will not be true under “socialism.” We will see.
Yeah, that’s all true … and yet … who knows. But listening to Pops isn’t everything, is it? 😉
Sometimes it isn’t anything, if Pops has a history of making bad choices and a life of unsavory character. This Pops, however, has a house and a job so he has probably been a responsible man. I’m generalizing, of course. Hey, it is nice to get acquainted with you via comments. Thanks, Na’ama.
Yeah, tis a fun conversation! 🙂 And, I’m all cool with the listening to a (good) Pops, but also, listening just as much to a (good) Momma, is all … 😉 Here’s to generalizing in the general direction of general fun! 😉
Smiling at you. I’ll see you later. If you read much of what I write you will see that I tend to side with men in a lot of issues; however, I always point out that I am/was indeed fortunate to have good men in my life. I’m extremely sorry for those women and men who did not have good fathers, brothers, cousins, grandfathers, uncles…. Of course, most of them had wives who ran the household! No, no, I’m kidding. My husband told me flat out this week not to do something and I didn’t do it. How about that? It took him about ten minutes to decide he was wrong. 😀