If you’ve been keeping up with the Education section here at Families.com you know I’ve been working a lot this summer. I’m in the final testing stage for my doctorate. I’ve passed all of my classes over four long years and I’m now preparing to be re-tested over a significant percentage of them. This is taking a lot of time and while I’m certainly taking needed breaks in between my long hours of reading and wriitng these breaks are rarely for anything more glamorous than food or drink. To be quite honest I feel like I am missing out on a lot of wonderful things that are happening this summer.
My wife has been great this summer (though she is always great). She has been giving me as much time as possible to get my work done. She’s been taking our son to play with family or friends for extended periods of time to allow me to read and write and study for my upcoming exams. This is very much appreciated (and necessary) but I truly do miss them. The small amount of time I do spend with them that is free of reading, writing or study is a joy and is a valuable part of my day. This, however, has got me thinking about life.
Work is a necessity of sorts for life. Somehow money must be made (in whatever amount) to support the requirements of life. If not money then at least those basics of food and shelter. So work is required. Work, however, cuts into the time one might use to spend with family. This is a difficult position (and one that I come to realize more fully every day). These are somewhat opposed to one another. I’ll be trying to figure this equation out for the rest of my life. How do you balance these two opposed (but necessary) items of life.