I feel like I've really been focusing on everything BUT the "work" part of work-at-home. Much of that is because my work is very, very flexible. I write and I edit, and much of it can be done in 45-minute spurts throughout the day, adding up to an average of five hours or so. And I know I'm lucky to have it.

I was thinking about this because it was on my schedule today to write about kids and the garden. Last year at this time, I was trying to put a garden together using three-hour chunks of time on the weekend. However, it would get so weedy during the week that by the time Saturday came, it would look so discouraging it would hardly be fun. And while I was gardening, trying to get a break from my nightmare job (someday I'll blog about it), all I could think of was how the weekend was flying by and how awful Monday was going to be.

This past weekend, both Mara and Ian came to help me in the garden. I educated them on what plants to pull and which ones to leave. Ian got to wield impressively dangerous-looking clippers and go after the grass edging the garden. Mara was in charge of the dandelion-digger and spent much more time than I would have surgically removing weeds. Work stopped whenever a worm appeared, or an interesting bug, or a pretty rock (uh, yeah, I have a ton of rocks in my garden).

It's good for kids to get dirty and be comfortable among growing things. If you don't have a garden, try container gardening. If you're low-maintenance, plant pumpkins, sunflower seeds, peas and radishes. It's certainly not too late to plant now (up here, I haven't even put in my annuals yet).

I push flexibility in working at home a lot on this blog and sometimes I feel like I give the impression that I don't work a lot. That's not the case at all -- my old job was tearing me up so badly that I am full of gratitude to be able to spend time at home with my family, and I want to remind people that you don't have to be your own abusive taskmasker just because you work at home.

This week, Ian is involved in one of those quick-strike drama programs. An outfit rolls into town on Sunday night, holds auditions for 60 kids on Monday morning, and on Friday and Saturday, puts on an hour-long play. These things are so impressive. The young people who work with the kids are dedicated, energetic, full of joy, and know how to get the kids excited about the project.

Ian is a bit of a ham, and I think getting involved in a drama program is good for a lot of kids. A play is a safe place for a shy kid to be someone he’s not. An outgoing kid can channel that extrovert energy and do something productive.

This always kicks off our summer. Last year, when I was still working in an office, I took the week off so I could get Ian to all the rehearsals. They have rehearsals every day (except for the very youngest kids), and sometimes all day, depending on the part. This year, because I’m working at home, it’s not a big deal to swing by and drop him off or pick him up. I am thankful as I do it. Last year I found it hard to enjoy even my time off, because knowing it would end and I would have to go back to my sick office was so depressing. Now, I am full of gratitude — to myself, for having the courage to walk away from a full-time job in a bad economy; to my husband, for taking the risk with me; and my kids, for making it all worth it. I will have to juggle interviews and do some work at night to fit in the play rehearsals and performances. But as I watch Ian on stage at the end of this week, I will know I’m doing what I should be doing.

Do traveling plays come through your town? What are your kids doing this summer?

You are lucky indeed if your kids are able to take care of themselves enough to give you ample time to work on your business, whether you’re on a sales call, interviewing someone for an article, or tackling a difficult editing job.  A half-hour stretch of alone time, and then a couple minutes with you checking in, should be enough for both of you to have your own space and time.

 This is also the time of year to sign up for summer reading programs.  My kids are voracious bookworms, but a good summer reading program can encourage even the most reluctant reader.  Stickers and charts showing a child’s progress, and weekly prizes or other incentives, help kids get excited about reading. Try your local library, or even an online program.  Sprawling out on the grass, or making a cozy nook on an apartment balcony, or setting up the bed as a reading boat and then losing themselves in books will be remembered for years.

 Where we are, there are so many great summer programs that it’s tempting to sign up the kids for everything – especially because the more they’re gone, the more time you have to work.  But is it worth it?  One of the reasons I wanted to work at home was so I could be a better mom. Shoving the kids off to a bunch of activities doesn’t make summer special – it makes it just as busy as the school year, only busy in a different way.

 Let them climb a tree, make a fort with sheets on the clothesline, make popsicles, set up a lemonade stand, make ice cream (you don't need an ice-cream maker!), catch butterflies and lightning bugs, paint, play four square, and feel the easing of the mind and body that comes in the summer.

When is your kids’ last day of school? Here in Minnesota, we go on for about a week after Memorial Day, and if we’ve had a rough winter, extra days are tacked on to the end. We probably should have some makeup days this year, but the district (like many) is in financial trouble, so they’re bypassing makeup days.

Ian will be doing summer hockey, baseball, a summer play, soccer, and swimming lessons. Mara has soccer and swimming lessons, and maybe the summer play, if she feels like it.

Writing that down, it looks like a lot. Throw in a vacation, trips to grandparents’ houses, and any summer academic work I might want to give them, and I ask myself if it’s too much.

If I were still office-bound, I’d say yes, it is. Last summer, when I was still working at the office, a half-hour commute meant I had only the tiniest margins of error any time I wanted to cart my kids around to activities. But now that I’m working at home, I have a much better feel for how much we can schedule. And I don’t think this is too much.

The reason we have fond memories of summer vacation is the sense of long stretches of time with nothing to do. Can you even imagine, anymore, what nothing to do feels like? It’s magical. Kids have to have time to lie around and daydream, to put themselves into that almost hypnotic state that prepares the brain for a spark of creativity and excitement. If I were rushing back from the office to pick the kids up from summer day care to fling them into a sport and then fly home to throw something crappy together for supper, I would think they were overscheduled because I would be overscheduled. But because my time can be balanced between everything that needs to be done, I can make sure they are prepared and focused for the summer activities.

Of course, the best barometer for whether kids are overscheduled is how they feel. If a child is reluctant to put on the uniform to get ready for a game, or balks when it’s time to go to swimming lessons, you know something is up. What are your kids doing this summer?

“Work-at-home” may be the first part of “Work-at-home mom,” but the biggest reason you’re at home is probably your kids. Whether you’re at home with a newborn trying to figure out how to type while breastfeeding, or sitting in an a conference call while three teenagers tromp through the kitchen bellowing for snacks, your children are the reason and the biggest challenge about working at home.

I have two kids; Ian is 10 and Mara is 6. They are fairly self-sufficient, but I remember the days of interviewing people over the phone while feeding graham crackers to Mara as a baby to keep her quiet. I will try to focus on all ages and abilities of children, but feel free to call me on anything if I’m out of line or wrong.

On this blog, Tuesdays will focus on the kids – the glory of them, the challenges, the balance that you thought might come with working at home, yet sometimes feels even more elusive than when you worked outside the home. We’ll talk about ways to keep them busy while you’re working, things to do with them, and those moments you dreamed about when you were sitting through your third Power Point presentation of the week.