Finally, the tree fruits.

This is what I do for work – I produce animated videos like this one. In fact, this animation for Circle Street was my first solo project, back in February.

I work from home – mostly in our basement office, sometimes at the dining table, occasionally in my thinking chair. I work part time while the kids are in school, and during the summer I have an elaborate schedule of day camps, VBS programs, and babysitting swaps to keep track of.

Working from home has its pros and cons. It’s always there and the boundaries between work and play can get blurry sometimes. I find if I don’t leave the house with the kids during my off hours, I end up getting sucked in to email threads or answering my phone or otherwise getting distracted from family life.

But the advantages of working from home far outweigh the challenges – I have no commute, I can transition quickly between work and play, and I can do my laundry (theoretically) between tasks.

The best thing about working from home, though, is my kids get to see what I do. They see what I’m creating – the illustrations, the rough animations, the edits – always asking questions.

Recently Bryan took Ruthie on a daddy date, and he asked where she’d like to eat lunch.

“Sushi Palace!” she yelled enthusiastically.

Bryan looked at me, perplexed. “Where’s Sushi Palace?” he asked.

“It’s the fictional restaurant in my Circle Street animation,” I said proudly.

Ruthie’s connection to what I do all day long is the culmination of all the decisions about work, life, and community Bryan and I have made over the last four or five years. Finally, the tree fruits.

Work is not just somewhere I go, a place that takes me away from my family & gives me a paycheck. We worked work into the DNA of our family. Work works for us, not the other way around.

It is a long-established fact in the ZugHaus that I have Eeyore tendencies – I moan and whine about whatever inconvenience befalls me in the moment. But the truth is, my Eeyore moments are growing few and far between as I wake up to the realization that I am one very fortunate wife and mother.

My life is a both/and of hard work and God’s blessing, and I’m very, very grateful.