Life Lessons From A Work At Home Father
Even at my age, there are still many things about life I've
never been able to figure out. One of those things is innocence
and exactly when or why we lost it.
I remember taking my niece and nephew to one of those fast food
places that has this built in playground and it was magical! In
that moment in time and it that place, the world was perfect.
There was a very wide diversity of cultures, income levels,
education, you name it but to these children the only thing that
mattered was playing and helping each other get over the hurdles
of the various play equipment. At that moment, the world was
perfect.
I never had much experience with that sort of thing when I was
growing up so I was somewhat ill equipped as a father when it
came to playing with my children. All I had ever known was
strict discipline, ethics, rigidity - perfect military material!
I guess it's of little wonder that my second marriage to a
former Marine was all but inevitable.
My kids needed someone to play with and I needed someone to
teach me! The most hilarious thing I can recall about this
"initiation" period was when the 6 of us sat down to play a game
of Life. It was my wife's turn and when she picked out her
driver, a lovely pink peg, my oldest son mentioned rather
strongly to her that she had incorrectly placed her peg in the
driver's seat.
My eyes nearly fell out of my head as he scolded this former
Marine on driving arrangements and the difference between men's
and women's duties - man I'd like to have died! So now I'm
thinking great, I'm counting on my kids to teach me how to play
and they don't know how either!
As a follow up, my wife the Marine showed mercy and let my son
live - I on the other hand lost 5 inches in height from the look
she gave me and experienced partial hearing loss in the right
ear!
Eventually, things got turned around and I had a blast. There
were so many things I never got to do as a child so I was going
to make sure I did them with my kids. I made snow angels, caught
snow flakes with my tongue, jumped in mud puddles, and squeaked
my shoes through the store really loud!
I began to appreciate things and slowly began to understand
about taking time to stop and smell the roses as you might say.
All of us have jobs and all of us have days that are better than
others but, what about the good days?
Don't lose sight of them over everything else. No matter what
your position in life, don't forget to take time and enjoy
recess! Even the slight suggestion of it here made you think of
a time and a place when something very magical was going on and
you were part of it.
You're probably wondering what the heck this article has to do
with anything - well let me tell you! Whether you're a work at
home mom, dad, or just someone looking for something better, you
have power and privileges that most corporations or managers
would love to have.
Do you value your freedom? Of course you do, who wouldn't? In a
structured job market you have no freedom. Your ideas are owned
by someone else, your hours are dictated, too many occurrences
of "family" emergencies will get you in trouble and someone else
is making money off of you! Sounds pretty bleak but, think about
it.
Owning your own business is not without its own unique problems
but I want to mainly focus on the benefits. How about the
ability to come and go as you please, or getting your hair done
in the middle of the day, walking in the park and just taking in
life's simpler pleasures? How about RECESS!
Quite a few times here of late I have visited places that when I
was a child made me happy and by doing so, I rejuvenate my
spirit, gather my wits about me and girded myself once again
with the metal to fight life's battles. It all comes down to
priorities and responsibilities which sometime, frankly just
suck. Being a grown up sometimes can suck.
Don't lose sight however of the big picture. In order to
succeed, you need to be refreshed, vibrant and clear but, make
sure you don't lose yourself or your family in the process -
it's not worth it.
If part of the reason you're going into business for yourself is
to spend more time with your family, do it - don't just talk
about it. There's no substitute for happiness. It can bring you
wealth beyond your wildest imagination. Things these days are
hard enough without you making it tougher on yourself.