Current Situation

Sometimes, somethings, make you stop and think. And sometimes you realize that you should have stopped to think quite some time ago. This seems to always be the case when things are not working out for the best. Nobody ever stops to think when things are going great (or so they think). So it seems to me that we would all be better off to stop and think frequently. Even if things ARE going great. It may just turn out that we THINK things are going great. Such is my advice, and i believe i shall start to follow it

I made a decision 6 years ago to invest in the future well being of my family. The basis of this plan was to manage a business that I could one day buy. While meeting the initial goal was easily done, the long term costs were not taken into account. Managing a business is not a easy task. It is a very demanding lifestyle. Always on call, long hours, employee no-shows etc etc. But the major offsetting factor of all this hard work was the fact that my family was taken care of. Food was on the table, bills were paid, my responsibilities as a husband and father met. Unfortunately monetary support is not the sole responsibility of a husband and father. Over time work became more demanding. Time with the children and wife, less and less. My children started questioning my priorities. My wife started questioning her love. Finally it all broke. My wife was ready to leave. The kids would go too. All that would be left was the job. The only purpose of the job was to provide. Therefore the job would have no purpose. So, I stopped to think. Better late than never, but, none the less, it was almost too late. Money is not the most important thing a family needs. Being a family is THE most important thing. I still manage the business. But that is short-lived. Days off are now just that. No more phone calls, no more unfinished business. Family comes first. Every day I now stop, and think. I think about how much I love my wife. I think about how great my children are. I think about the future. We will embark on many great journeys through life. Our next journey begins in about a year and a half. We will leave the life we know, and return to the city. We will find new jobs, new friends, new experiences. But one thing will always remain the same. Family comes first. I will ALWAYS be there, fulfilling my task of providing for my family. Providing a father for my children. Providing a husband for my wife. THAT is what is important in life. That and stopping to think.