I head into the office about three days a week. Some days I drag my feet, and other days I’m oddly excited to pack a lunch and rejoin the land of fluorescent lights and coffee chats. I’ve been a marketing professional my entire adult life—getting up, getting dressed, dropping off my daughters at school, and stepping into the business world.
There’s a quiet pride I carry in showing up as a working woman, especially in front of my daughters. They don’t fully grasp what I’ve achieved in my career—they just know I work hard. I want that image to stick. I want them to grow up thinking, “Of course I can do that,” because they’ve seen it in action every day.
I know that the working mom thing isn’t for everyone and it sure isn’t easy, but it’s the life I live. And if I have to sprinkle a little fairy dust and romanticize it to keep things light and lovely, so be it.
Office Babies
Last week, my daughter, Taylor handed me a few clippings from her thriving collection of 30+ houseplants (yes, she’s that plant girl and we love her for it). I brought them into the office and shared the bounty with my podmates. Now we’re all co-parenting these tiny roots, cheering them on like proud plant aunties and uncles. When they’re ready to “graduate” to real pots, someone can adopt them.
I Love Birdsong (Who else watched “With Love, Meghan?”)
Every morning since spring, a little bird has perched on the same tree near the entrance to our office and serenades me with what I’m convinced is a “Welcome to Work!” song. It’s a very specific melody—my own personal motivational anthem.
I thank you, feathered friend. Your chirps are my coffee.
My Kind of Lunch-n-Learn
Best way to spend a lunch break? In a bookstore, obviously.
I just started reading Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, and I’m already intrigued. It’s delightfully odd—in the best way—and centers around a clever octopus who escapes his tank and befriends the aquarium’s night shift crew.
Next up on my reading list: Sunrise on the Reaping, the latest installment in the Hunger Games universe. I’m late to the party but was thrilled to find out that this series has continued. It brings me back to when Taylor, now 24 was a young teenager and we read the trilogy together. Yes, I will be emotionally devastated. No, I do not need to be saved.
Sometimes it’s the little things—plant cuttings, birdsong, a good book during lunch—that turn “just another office day” into something sweet. Even if you have to romanticize it a bit… why not?
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