More Living Columnists

• Dolores Sanchez Badillo: The view from the fenceline
• Mary Penner: Learning about your past is an awesome journey
• Steve Brewer: Goofy fads can hold fond memories for families

MOST RECENT TRIB STORIES

• ABQTrib.com to remain available
  08:48 a.m., February 25, 2008
• Congressman is indicted
  08:37 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Series of attacks target Green Zone
  08:36 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Iran is defying U.N., agency says
  08:35 a.m., February 23, 2008
• Waterboarding approval probed
  08:34 a.m., February 23, 2008

TRIB IN THE BLOGOSPHERE*

• Ty Murray Invitational thrills fans in Albuquerque
• Is Rome Burning?
• Ominous Skies
• The Road to Invalidation
• Albuquerque company participates in “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”

*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.

STORY TOOLS

• E-mail story
• Comments
• iPod friendly
• Printer friendly

SHARE THIS STORY [?]

Can a married couple work happily at home together? Occupy the same home office? Share every waking moment?

We've conducted such a social experiment at our house the past couple of months and can now say, in the strongest possible terms: We'll see.

This new arrangement began in June, when my wife left her job as the editor of a newspaper. After 25 years of journalism's long hours and high stress, she did the only sane thing. She chucked it all and came home.

Thanks to computers, any of us can make such a choice these days. More and more jobs can be done from home, and all kinds of investments can be managed online. Entrepreneurs need only a laptop and a phone to do business anywhere. A creative person can always noodle an income out of the Internet.

I'm living proof. I've been gainfully unemployed for 10 years, sitting at a home computer, pulling words out of thin air and selling them for actual money. I have no boss, no commute, no firm schedule. I rarely wear socks.

A spouse notices these things, and mine saw how much I enjoyed my laid-back lifestyle. Why should I have all the fun? With me egging her on, she ditched the corporate life and parachuted to a landing at the house.

We planned to set up her new office in a bedroom, but our nest isn't emptying out as quickly as we expected, if you get my drift. So for now we're sharing a home office, and we're getting along fine. My own work is flourishing, and my wife is pursuing several business opportunities that do not require the wearing of high heels.

People warned us that too much togetherness might be hazardous to our relationship. We heard about many long-married couples who got on each other's nerves once they were home all day. Apparently, this is a major cause of divorce and/or homicide among America's retirees. Who knew?

Some friends predicted my wife would quickly tire of sharing work quarters with a knuckle-cracking, chair-squeaking, coffee-slurping Sasquatch impersonator who mutters curses all day.

So far, we're proving the naysayers wrong. I've behaved myself, mostly, and we've found a rhythm to the workday, a mix of wisecracking and silence that feels about right.

It's too soon to say whether two-in-a-home-office will work over the long term. We're still collecting data.

A number of variables have affected the experiment. My wife and I have traveled a lot, and so we haven't been under the same roof that much. Our social lives have been busier than usual, what with all the retirement parties and hot-weather houseguests.

Our two teenage sons have been out of school for the summer; they're not home much, but they do come by occasionally to pillage the kitchen, and we drop everything and whip out some "parenting" while we've got the chance.

We seem as busy as ever. Will that change? Will things slow down later? Will the boundaries blur between work and home life? Will we find the perfect balance? Or, will we end up a tabloid headline: "Former Newspaper Executive Defends Slaying — Couldn't Tolerate All-Day Burping."

Too soon to tell.

We'll keep monitoring the experiment on the home front and send occasional progress reports. We anticipate nothing but good news from this end. But if you don't hear from us, check the tabloids.