This Friday the 13th could only be possible because of how I do what I do, and where I do it.

Telecommuting in Costa Rica.

My wife asks me, at the end of the day on Thursday, “Hey, our awesome friends who are visiting Costa Rica and staying on our mountain for three weeks, they want to drive an hour to Manuel Antonio tomorrow morning and spend the day there. Do you want to go to the beach and work from there?”

This is Johanna’s awesome friend Aran. They’ve known each other since high school. This is the first time they’ve seen each other in almost twenty years.

Aran loves babies. And if Taos is a good control test subject, it’s safe to say babies love Aran.

The Vogenthaler kids and Huntress kids. Already fast friends.

Do I want to work at the beach?

I almost said no. I was thinking of all the stuff I had to do, the calls I had to make, the projects I had to move forward, the copy I had to write, the scope of work I had to put together, and I thought, “I should just stay here and work like normal. It’s a Friday, but it’s a big day.”

Then I looked around at my life: I’ve got my office in a backpack. My beautiful wife wants to go the beach with our children and a family of friends. Why on earth would I not go?

‘Okay,’ I said, ‘we just have to leave after my conference call.’

I got started early, knocked out emails and tasks, had a dynamite conference call, and then off to the beach we went. I worked in the backseat, writing copy and marketing strategy. My big, big kids were all big enough to sit quietly while I made a twenty minute phone call in the car with them, and negotiated a new website deal.

Waiting, waiting, so patiently.

Then we got to the beach.

After frolicking in the water and the sand for a couple of hours, we had a picnic on a towel in the sunshine. Strawberries and peanut butter. Crackers and bananas. And then, off to El Avion.

This is the same plane that Ollie North used for smuggling in the whole Iran/Contra scandal. Now it’s a restaurant.

Then we drove to the boardwalk (such as it is in Manuel Antonio), and I worked from a restaurant and drank a beer. The kids and the other 3 parents strolled around the sand, then came back to the restaurant to have snacks. On the drive home I wrote some long emails hiring a new SEO guy and giving my digital assistant another week’s worth of work.

We got home and went through grub, bathtime, and bedtime. Now I am working a bit more at night, after a final cup of coffee to keep me sharp, and I look back at this amazing day.

I had a workday and a beach trip concurrently.

On the same day.

At the same time.

And as fun as that was, the beach trip and the good day of work, my favorite part of this incredible day was when my baby Taos couldn’t get to sleep.

I put him in the sling, and bounced him gently in the dark bedroom, as he tossed fitfully, unable to give up the ghost and fall into slumber. Only by tuning myself into his rhythm, and engaging with him fully as nothing more than a support system for his comfort, did I find true bliss and fulfillment today.