You can spot them all the time, those lucky people who work from home.
-They’re the ones who take their kids to the bus stop, who are there when they come home from school.
-They’re the ones who can wear jeans or sweats every day, who have a strange look of contentment on their faces.
-They’re the ones who can escape their jobs for a few hours and volunteer at school, or can take a walk when the weather is fine.

Working from home has wonderful benefits, particularly if you have children. But even if you don’t, not having to face that daily commute can be a real blessing. Is there anything worse than getting up at 6 a.m. to scrape snow and ice from your car, shovel a path, digging through a three-foot snow bank left behind by the plow just so you can sit on a highway in rush hour traffic? And when you leave work—finally—it can be just as tough to get into a car that’s been sweltering in the sun all day.

Don’t forget the morning madness if you have children and also have to get to work on time. You not only have to make sure your tie is straight and your pants pressed, you also have to make sure the kids’ hair is brushed, their socks match (though this has become an option, thankfully), their backpacks have their homework inside and their lunches are made.

When your kids are too sick to go to school, if you work from home you don’t have to miss work or worse, send the poor kids to school anyway. If they’re on the couch sleeping or quietly watching cartoons, you can still work. And if they’re released from school early, you don’t have to face your boss’s frown or your co-workers looks of contempt because you have to leave early—again. You’re your own boss. If you don’t get your work done during the day, you can finish up when the kids are asleep.

Yes, you can recognize those who work at home. They’re the ones who can take the time to put their slippers on and read the paper before heading 20 feet to their computer. The house is blessedly silent but for the hum of the computer’s fan. Outside the birds are singing and inside you start your workday.

Perhaps it’s not all that wonderful, but it’s close. As wonderful as it is, though, not everyone would face a day of complete isolation with such happiness. Working at home is not for everyone.

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