The loneliness of the long-distance consultant?

I had a busy day yesterday. I left home at 8.40 and didn't get back till 5.30. I had a UKZN lecture till 12.30, then a lesson with Gr 9 at St Nics to try and finishe my research for the Read Africa Conference in July, then I had a Reading to Learn meeting with Mike Hart and spent the last part of the afternoon showing Fi how to make a blog. I also did some shopping. By the time I sat down to my webinar at 9.00 I was very tired.

Last year, that would have been a normal day - leave home at 7.10 and leave school at 5.30. No wonder I was always tired.

But this year, the pattern of my days is different. Being a consultant is hard work - lots of new things to do, lots of hours to work, ideas to conceptualise and put into order, documents to write, assessments to do. Often I don't really understand what I am grappling with, but there are no distractions which allow me to do something "worthy" to get away from the work that needs to be done. A lot of my work is done by myself, but a skype conference with Gerald today showed how easy it is to collaborate, and without 20 people knocking on the door and interrupting - I never got used to that at school! I often work late at night to get my hours in for my different contracts, especially as so many of the things I do are on USA time, so I have 9 and 10pm webinars!

But there are definite perks - being able to go for a walk with Pete and Lindt during the morning, eating breakfast and lunch at the verandah table, having time to cook meals that are low-carb, low-calorie AND tasty, taking time out to light a fire in the lounge fireplace, to go to gym, to sit around in my slippers all day, to sit on the verandah and thaw out for a few hours. I can even go on holiday and do my work while Pete is fishing or watching TV.

I do miss the interaction with the friends I had when I was working full-time. But I get to talk to Pete more than I have for years. I even get time to talk to my cats - Jingle and Bell get very bent out of shape when I am away for a substantial part of a day.

So - am I lonely? No. I feel more relaxed than I have felt for a long time - maybe I can stop taking my anti-depressant medication.

The life of a long-distance consultant is a good life. Long may the feelings of excitement last.