It reminded me of moving into my dorm room in college. Not only were we hauling a mini-fridge and microwave up the elevator, but we were settling into the first office space we could call ours. I remember feeling the excitement of ownership of my dorm room – it was mine to decorate, to trash, to clean, to live in without anyone looking over my shoulder. Of course I didn’t OWN it, but it felt like mine.
Thursday, Lee signed the lease on his first office space. Until now, he’s operated his business out of our home. But that business is growing, and he needs a professional space to meet clients. He also needs that valuable separation between work and home. Clients call and email at all hours, and it’s hard to get away from the work when his office is also in his living room. His computer stares at him all evening, reminding him of the unfinished projects. Now, hopefully he can shut it down at the end of the work day, close the door and walk away.
I think it’s really cool to set up an office space. Instead of your employer dictating how it will look and feel, it’s up to us. We can arrange and decorate however we please. Beer in the fridge? Why not? There’s no one telling us we can’t.
The office is in a great location in Savannah’s City Market. It’s a suite in one of the historic buildings, with two walls of exposed Savannah gray bricks. The biggest danger is that it’s a half block from the Savannah Candy Kitchen, where you gain ten pounds just by walking in the door. Mmmmmmmmmm. Caramel apples.
One negative about working downtown is parking. But there is a hotel parking garage directly across the street from his office, and we were able to snag a monthly spot. I was super psyched! We can park downtown whenever we want (even holidays!), and don’t have to circle looking for a spot or dig around in my wallet for a quarter. I was almost as excited about the parking pass as I was the keys to the new office.
Unfortunately, Lee hasn’t been able to enjoy the new office space yet. Camille got another TERRIBLE stomach bug Thursday, so we were pretty consumed with that. We moved a few things in over the weekend, and Camille seemed to be improving, but had a setback Saturday night. Sunday morning, we had one of our worst visits to the doctor’s office yet. I don’t even want to talk about it. By the time we left, they felt she was just still working through the virus, but it took several tests to reach that conclusion and lots of tears (almost as many from me as from her).
Today, Camille seems to be doing better, but poor Lee is sick. I’m just waiting for my turn. The good news is, Lee appears to be through the worst of it, so hopefully he’ll be in his office tomorrow. So jealous!