Togetherness...

...is wonderful in theory.  This is the longest time Robin has ever been out of work, and it's proving to be...interesting.  It's nice to have him at home.  It's just that I like a lot of quiet time on my own, and it feels weird to have someone else in the house, hogging the PC (thank goodness I didn't listen to him, and bought a laptop last year, or I wouldn't be able to blog!) and interrupting the work at odd moments, usually the moments where you really wanted to be concentrating on whatever it was.  It does, however, make me wonder how he will cope when he retires.  I have a lot of things to do, arguably too many.  Robin, though, like many men (I won't say most, though I wonder if that is true...) focusses strongly on his work, and other than going to the fooball, has very little in the way of hobbies.  Once you've trawled the internet for hours, applied for jobs and talked to agencies on the phone, for even more hours, what do you do? 

The first time Robin lost his job, we bought some paint, and he started to paint the living room.  He immediately started getting a lot of phone calls, and he ended up in a job, with the living room only half finished.  This time, he has repainted the (very tiny) downstairs loo, but clearly that wasn't enough to interest the employment gods.  Interestingly, though, when he took to his bed with a migraine, he got three calls on the trot about possible temporary jobs.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, perhaps, he doesn't get migraines very often.  Not sure how to feel about that...

This does, however, give me a profound respect for couples who live and work together.  I don't think I'd work well with Robin, and vice versa, yet friends of ours manage that level of togetherness with ease.  One couple is completely devoted...the other two seem to thrive on scrapping with each other.  Each way works for them.  I think we're somewhere in the middle.  I also think Ill be working in the studio at the bottom of the garden next week.  I daren't ask Robin how he feels about it all, but I suspect he might enjoy the break!