Wednesday, September 30, 2015

A Not So Delicate Balance

I emerge from the fog of late night work, a little sleep under my belt, into a world of pickups and drop offs and parenthood in general. And despite the fact that I probably look a little ghostly, I couldn't be happier. Despite the fact that I can't necessarily form coherent sentences in my conversations with fellow parents and the fact that I don't quite have the energy to play ping pong and video games with my kids, I revel in being part of the family world.
 

The balance of work and family is an ongoing challenge, not just for me, but for parents like me all over. For how many years have I gone to morning school events, sweating all the while about being late to work? For how many years have I ceded pickup duties to assorted babysitters and had to forgo midday parent events? Today, having worked in the wee morning hours and slept during school, I could be there for the rest of the day. Perhaps I was a bit unbalanced--let's face it, that idea of work/life balance is a myth, no matter what time of day you work. But when the seesaw shifts, even just a little, it feels good to be able to reach out and touch the things that might otherwise have passed you by.

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