Mommy's Office

6 a.m. Kids asleep (two in our bed). Husband in guest room. I'm in the kitchen stealing an hour of work before the morning tumult of breakfast, teeth brushing, shoe-tying and homework-finding.

To some, the kitchen might seem an insane place for a home office. Especially given that my work, like most work, requires concentration.

To me, as a mom, the kitchen is the only practical place where I can actually expect to get work done on a regular basis, aside from my real office, that oasis of peace, tranquility and civilization far from chocolate-dipped fingers and Sponge Bob background music. Imagine trying to run to an upstairs office, only to have to run back down when the howling over "He pinched me first!" or "Could I have another glass of milk?" begins.

My mother cannot fathom how (or why) I serve my kids dinner and then frantically demolish 20 e-mail messages at my desk 10 feet from their fish sticks. My dad cannot understand how I can work in a kitchen when he hustled off to his law firm every day for 10 hours of peaceful concentration.

But working in the kitchen is one of the main reasons I can be a mom who works. I need to integrate work and family -- it would be a farce to separate work and my kids, to pretend I am only mom, or only a worker. I am both -- I am a working mom -- no matter whether I'm in my kitchen or the boardroom.

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  March 10, 2006; 6:30 AM ET  | Category:  Workplaces
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