Overlap

I used to think that my success at work and at home was due to my ability to separate the two things--to leave home at home and work at work--the less overlap, the better.
 
Perhaps that still holds true, but I am finding that these days, overlap is everywhere, largely unavoidable, whether it is between home and work or work and life or home and school--the list is endless. Little by little, I am learning to accept--perhaps, even embrace--overlap. It has been an ongoing journey....
 
When your kids are small, there is child care--an adult who runs the show in your absence and makes decisions for those small people who are not yet capable of making their own decisions. As your kids get older, there is less child care. And those small people are more capable of making decisions. Which they run by you. When you're at work. Overlap.
 
When your kids are small, they are not interested in what you did at work. They are interested in dinner on the table and a game of Candyland, a story at bedtime, and their favorite stuffed animal. Okay, with the exception of Candyland, maybe they're still interested in those things, but they are also interested in office politics, which becomes dinner table conversation. Overlap.
 
When your kids are small, the weekends are largely determined by you, meaning that errands and catch-up can happen on the weekends, apart from the work week. When they are older, they have their own weekend commitments--ones that require your involvement--meaning that all those errands and catch-ups need to be part of the regular week--before, during, and after work. Overlap.
 
When you are early in your career, you don't know that many people. Your job is your job, and your life is your life. As you get older, there are inevitably connections between the two, whether it's people you've met, or shared experiences you've had. Overlap.
 
Whether we like it or not, the parts of our lives can't really help but overlap. We can rail against the intrusion (which I sometimes do), or we can embrace the gift it gives us--perhaps a degree of family compassion when dealing with work situations, perhaps a degree of work organization when dealing with family issues. And the ability to carry the things and people that are important to us from one part of our lives to another.
 
How will your "lives" overlap today?