The Day I Snapped: So You Want to Work from Home?

A young reporter, two babies, a $1,300 computer, and the moment I decided working from home was the only way forward.

In 1989, I graduated from college even though one of my instructors asked me to stop coming to class.

He was worried I might give birth right there on the classroom floor where I sat during class. To be fair, I did not fit in the desk.

Still, I graduated. No finals were administered in the birthing room, but I did ask.

I was working an internship in the Public Affairs Office at Defense Depot Ogden while my husband and I opened a heavy equipment repair business. Soon after, I landed a job at Hill Air Force Base. At the same time, I was stringing newspaper stories on the side — with two babies at home.

It was a lot.

We will find a way to do it all, have it all--by not doing it all.

One afternoon, I picked up my four-year-old from daycare. He was crying. Angry crying.

“What's up, honey? Tell Mamma. What's wrong?”

He tearfully told me the teacher covered his mouth with masking tape to make him stop talking.

Screeeeeeech.

“Urch. She did what?”

That was the moment something inside me snapped.

I couldn’t take him back there. I couldn’t nurse a newborn, raise her big brother, run a business, work two jobs, and keep my sanity.

I couldn’t take him back there. I couldn’t nurse a newborn, raise her big brother, run a business, work two jobs, and keep my sanity. Don't tell me "where there's a will, there's a way." Honey, there ain't no way. Unless we explore the technology frontier. We can slowly build a home here so we won't be left behind.

We will find a way to do it all, have it all--by not doing it all.

So I did what any rational, exhausted young mother would do. I went to the local electronics store and bought a computer so I could work from home.

The salesman asked, “How much memory do you need?”

“Oh, you know… the usual amount,” I replied.

Then he asked how fast I wanted it to be. I briefly imagined computers racing down the aisle.

“Oh, I’m not in that big of a hurry,” I told him.

I selected the least expensive model. Mostly because I might — or might not — have forgotten to mention to my husband that I was about to quit my job, spend $1,300, and start working from home.

Three hours later, he walked through the door and found me sitting on the living room floor surrounded by boxes, papers, packaging, two babies, and what looked like the aftermath of a small technology explosion.

In the coming weeks, we’ll talk about some of the practical ways AI can make remote work faster, clearer, and a whole lot more freeing.

My husband was six-foot-three. From where I sat on the floor, he looked about a hundred feet tall.

He took off his hat, wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, surveyed the situation, and said:

“Well… okay then.”

And that’s how my remote work career began.

I set up shop

Our bedroom had a long built-in dressing shelf that was the perfect height for a desk. I stayed awake for days, figuring out how to set up that computer. Weber State College opened a beautiful computer lab ... the semester I graduated.

Now there was dial-up internet. I was ready to go. That screeching mimi modem thing could not get me there fast enough.

My husband worked days. I worked while he and the babies slept. I got paid by the column inch, which meant every word mattered.

When I look back now, I honestly can’t believe I survived.

But desperate times call for desperate measures.

And I made it work.

Today, technology gives us choices I could only dream about back then. Groceries show up at your front door. Your thermostat talks to your phone. The microwave cooks dinner in minutes.

And now we have something else. AI.

AI is simply another tool — like the microwave, the internet, or the smartphone — that can bring order, speed, and convenience to our lives.

So here’s a fair question:

If you’re willing to use a microwave, why not try AI?

In the coming weeks, we’ll talk about some of the practical ways AI can make remote work faster, clearer, and a whole lot more freeing.

Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned about working remotely…

You need every tool you can get. I've been at it for decades, and I feel like I've tried every one. YCQ