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The Spark

The Spark

It was early spring, my taxes filed, and it was my first day Working from Home full-time. I was feeling energized and felt things were finally beginning to shift in my life. No longer would I have to make the hour-and-ten-minute commute (each way) to corporate headquarters, not daring to sip my coffee until 25 minutes into the drive, for fear I would be in traffic with a full mug weighing on my bladder. No more worrying whether George, my faithful companion of the last five plus years, would have his walk during the day or be left alone too long. I would save on fuel, lunch, and most importantly, I would have more TIME.

If that weren’t enough, I had just begun chatting with this oh-so-very handsome and intelligent Swiss guy I had connected with on UK.Match.com under somewhat false pretenses. (You will have more glimpses into this quirky side of my personal history as we get to know one another better — but I will cut to the chase: Damn! It didn’t work out.)

So, back to the morning. Of course, the weather was warming, the birds were coming back and beginning to sing, and the sun was dancing on the water. It was a picture perfect morning on Lord’s Point. George and I just about skipped our way down Boulder Avenue as if it were the Yellow Brick Road.

Just then, in my heightened state of joy, I saw my neighbor, Jenn, getting out of her car after her workout. Jenn is great. She is always upbeat, hip, has a great husband, great house, and works from home.

“Hey, Jenn!” I called out a bit overly enthusiastically.
“Hi Melissa,” she replied.
“Guess what?” I continued, “I work from home now too! We should have a work from home day or something.”
She looked over and smiled and said, “Yes, we should do lunch.”
“Sounds great!” I said as George finished sniffing, lifted his leg, and kicked up chunks of lawn with his back paws.

Well, that’s not quite what I had in mind, I thought as we continued our walk. I meant, wouldn’t it be cool to share space together for a day in a companionable, work-a-day way?

Then my mind began clicking, and I thought, I’m going to start a blog about working from home. I know tons of women around the country who have been working from home to some degree for the past 12 years or so. And, you know what? I don’t think I have ever seen any site dedicated to it. Sure, I have seen how to create a Zen office space, how to organize your Home Office and things along those lines. But, for the life of me, I couldn’t recall anything specifically dedicated to working from home.

And so it began. I decided, I WILL make this vision real. I was LIT UP, and my mind was on fire. I will cover all sorts of topics, I thought.

Working from Om will be dedicated to mindfulness, meditation, and overall positive juju.

Working from the Fridge will be an homage to my running joke with my colleagues that, for me, working from home was working from the fridge.

Style will feature my office style and other things I love, and, as our community grows, also the offices and work spaces of real women who work from home.

The Real Work, a space dedicated to Home Office security and other more serious home workplace topics, including how to stay relevant in your career.

I’ll share Working from Home weekly playlists and coordinate Working from Home meet-ups where women working in cities around the world can commiserate and conspire over a cup of coffee or adult beverage, and most importantly, share a laugh.

By now my wheels were turning. I will cover the best coffee shops around the country to spend an afternoon working when the Home Office feels more like a prison. I will address common issues that we face in the Home Office, from sick children to barking dogs, and home renovations. I will share my favorite things and my least favorite things about my day-to-day experiences. I will create a space where we can discuss Working from Home etiquette, like whether it’s cool with your boss if you schedule a recurring meeting each morning with Kathie Lee and Hoda in your PJs? And so much more!

Fast forward seven months and here we are. It is real, and I have created this (with the help of a few close friends) for us. My aspiration is that this blog, born on a spring morning in 2016, will be the catalyst to unify a group of women around the world who have never been unified in this way before.

I hope to bring you ideas and inspiration, share advice and viewpoints, and give you a place to participate and contribute, or just to enjoy. I want to make all of our Working from Home experiences better together.

I do not promise pretty pictures of perfectly curated office spaces, featuring me with a blowout and Kardashian-worthy make-up (well, maybe a couple if I can pull off a few cute days now and again). But I AM promising to be authentic and to deliver content that resonates. As our community grows, I promise to listen to what you want to share, hear, read about, vent about, and laugh about. Together we will make the Working from Home experience great.

We are in this together, homies! Let’s blow the roof off and set this blog on fire!

Live it, rock it! Melissa

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