You hear about them, read about them...heck, our entire entertainment industry is almost exclusively based on them.

But can you admit that you belong to one'

It's a never-ending waking nightmare. 24/7/365, you have FAMILY.

There is some escape possible. When you worked outside the h0me, you left to go to your job and were pretty much free while you were away, except for the occasional annoying call.

Then you went and blew it. You decided to w0rk at h0me.

The particulars don't matter, not the what, for whom or even why. You're at h0me.

Now consider the wiring of most people today in our society. "Work" and "home" have always been separate places and functions. When you're "at work", you're working. When you're "at home", you're not. Nice, easy, simple and understandable concept that kept everyone nodding and smiling like bobbleheads.

Think, then, of how haywire this rusty old wiring becomes when it tries to comprehend "w0rking at h0me". Ouch.

You may know the what, for whom and why. I would certainly hope you do. Your family ( a loose configuration of various real and "honorary" relatives you either married or have known forever) only knows that you are "at home." Does not compute, does not compute...

That's the reason why they don't get it.

You're there at home, open, vulnerable, accessible, recruitable. To them, you can't "work" while you're "at home." In their eyes, you're JUST "at home" and so all the "at home" rules apply.

This is where "h0me business" and "h0me employment" rules are born and nourished and grown until all family (well, alright...most) can recognize and interpret them to the best of their old wiring's ability.

You GOTTA:

Use workspeak. Set your "work hours" in your "work schedule" and "go to work" and "be working" when it's time to do so.

Work when you're working. No one makes a living playing Tetris or Doom, except the game testers. Unless your paychecks are from a game testing company, try sticking to business. That goes for IM and chatrooms and video cell phones and whatever the latest cool toys might be. Play later.

Show proof of working. I know this takes all the fun out of driving them crazy wondering what you're doing, but it'll really help. You don't have to flash pay receipts or checks, but print out a confirmation, thank you note or hard copy of a piece of a project. Whatever you do, show. All the time. Remember you're dealing with seriously rusty wiring. My brother-in-law still asks me, "So what's that you do again'?"

Apply glue liberally to your guns and stick to 'em. The bad news is you can never stop doing all these things. Just when you think they've finally got it, the eyes glass over and they start drooling again at the sound of your latest exploits. This stuff is imperative to garnering whatever support and cooperation you can get from these people who never go away. Either they will get it or they'll decide to bother someone else.

Well, we can all dream, can't we?

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