PREFACE: This post was sitting in my drafts since July, and it seemed to go nicely with the co-working post, so I hit publish.
After we returned from a refreshing holiday weekend1 at the in-laws, Cooper asked why we came home.
“Grandma, Grandpa, and Papa all have to go to work on Monday.”
“Where is Grandma’s office?”, he replies.
“Remember we drove past her office on the way to the petting zoo and car show?”
“Why isn’t her office in her house?”
I’ve worked at home since before the kids were born. I prefer it to an office outside of the home for a number of reasons. Primarily, I have greater control over my personal comfort (temperature, lighting, chair/desk/table heights) in my home office than I do elsewhere. Secondarily, considering how abstract my work is, having a home office makes me feel like the kids have some notion of what I do2 (even if that notion is limited to ‘drawing on whiteboards’).
Related: Merlin Mann’s The Richard Scarry Book of the Future [mp3]
1. Including a late evening pontoon ride, a chilly swim in the Wisconsin River, and a fantastic dinner at the recently opened Red Eye Brewery. I highly recommend all three.
2. My dad’s work took him away from the house for the entire work week – I know my a good portion of my attitudes about work are a direct response to that.