...love the alliteration...

Thank you all for your thoughtful and insightful comments. Many times I find that you put things in a different perspective from the one I held, and your comments inspire me to look again at what I was sure I knew the answer to. Again, my thanks.

I have taken Thursday off from work because there has been a whole laundry list of things that need to be done--nay, must be done--and there just don't seem to be enough hours Monday through Friday to do them, scheduling around my work hours.

Over the years, different managers have had widely differing views on work hours. Some have held rigidly to the start time--in the office 9 hours--end time, come hell or high water. (These were the same managers who questioned my right to take a nap during my duty free lunch hour.) No matter that I've shared my cell phone number with him and can be contacted any time. [though if anyone calls after 2200 hours, it had better be because the building is on fire or there's a tsunami approaching]

Other bosses, perceiving the ebb and flow of work demands, have said, fine, take a couple of hours off now, there's practically nothing to do, and then you can make them up on the days when we're insanely busy. Or take an extra hour for lunch to run an errand, then work an hour later to make up. No problem.

My current manager gives mixed messages (typical December baby). He says, "Go ahead and manage your schedule to suit the work flow." But then when I want to leave early on a quiet day, it's, "Where are you going? It's not quitting time yet."

I understand that his single overriding goal is to look good in the eyes of his own boss and everything that happens is viewed in that particular frame of reference. What if someone called at 3:45 and, instead of sending the call immediately to me, the clerk had to take a message and say I'd call them back the next morning? Horrors! It might look bad.

I understand his anxiety, so I use benefit time and just take the whole day off, scheduling as many of these things that must be done during week days as possible this one day. Back to work tomorrow. (I had one manager, who still works for the company, who felt that I was betraying him by even taking benefit time. I was supposed to be at work every day. No excuses. People sure change when they get a little power/authority.)

The cats were delighted that I slept late, until 6 a.m., providing a bed companion and body warmer in the cool morning air. It's nice to sit here, sipping my hot coffee, waiting for the plumber, and sharing my morning with you.

Life is good.