Yesterday, I awoke with an excitement for my work. My readiness to enter the office was off the chart. The desire to kick off the new year was stirring in my heart the entire holiday season. I enjoyed my time away, but in the back of my mind, I was chomping at the bit to jump back in and be productive.
Work / Life Conflict
Before I knew it, the joys of life out shined the call of work. I wanted to get to the office early, but my kids who are out of school for another week, slept in. Normally, this would not have been a problem, but it was my birthday and we have a tradition of opening birthday gifts at breakfast time. Protocol, required me to stay home until the last one was awake.
Fortunately, none of my children are real late sleepers. The last one got up at about 8:30 and we gathered around the kitchen table to open my gifts.
In my mind, I thought, "ok, there are about five gifts and 10 magnificent works of art to consider. This will take about a half an hour and I will be on my way to the office and on schedule for the day." The fact that I spent the previous two weeks at home, made it easy for me to justify my rush and willingness to leave on my birthday.
There was a big box on the table, bigger than I normally get for my birthday. I hurried though the other gifts and saved it for last. When I opened it, I discovered a beautiful new turntable which makes it possible to create mp3 files from all of my old records.
None of my kids had ever seen a record, let alone heard one played so I went and got the ones that I still own and we began to sing and dance about the house with delight. Three hours later we were still at it. It was a time of great joy for our family. Eventually, the excitement died down enough for me to take a break. I went up stairs to my study. I still planned on going in to the office, but I decided to do a defensive scan of emails and voice mails before I left.
Life Happens
Just as I was collecting my things, Sarah, my nine year-old daughter who received a new bicycle for Christmas came up and said, "hey dad, remember when you said we could go for a ride on our bikes, well since it is your birthday, we should go for a ride."
I thought to myself, "I don't have time to do that", but then I looked and her and realized that in that moment, I really didn't have time to do anything else so away we went for a bike ride. It was a beautiful day outside and we enjoyed a ride that went farther than she had ever gone before. Her smile made me forget about any of the things that I had on my list of things to do. I knew I was in the right place at the right time and that everything else could and would wait.
Home Sweet Home
When we arrived back at the house, we played with the turntable again and then I headed back upstairs to gather my stuff. It was late, so I just decided to at home the rest of the day. My list of things was less important than it seemed when I wrote it, and I knew I could finish most of it without going in to the office.
I faced many interruptions and I frequently paused to entertain a friendly call or a child wishing me a happy birthday. It felt like I was treading water until I got to the end of the day. It was then, that I realized that there was only one item on the list that needed to be completed and that was the insignificant task of cleaning my office.
The Things That Matter Most
I am so glad that I did not let my list get in the way of my time with my family. I understand how fortunate I was to be in a position to make it happen. I realize that the circumstances will not always lend themselves to a full day, but I believe we can always make time for those we love. Our day is never too busy.
When was the last time you called those you love during your work day just to say hello?
Do you hear the simple requests from your children when they want some of your time?
What happens to your energy levels at work after you pause to be a person?
I am certain that the greatest work we will ever do is done within the wall of our own homes. The office will wait and you will be able to get the work done in a timely manner because you will feel the balance that comes from answering the call of your family. It works! Give it a shot.
Live Today! Love Today!
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