Work, and Being Away From Your Child
I have an unusual job where I do not have set hours. I am on call so I can go out now, eight o’clock in the evening or three in the morning.
When that does occur, I am out for several hours or even a day and a half. The time that was meant to spend with my wife and daughter are curtailed. (If you are interested in learning what I do, click here)
When I do go out, I miss my family a great deal. It usually ends up my wife having to do everything associated with raising a child. When I am home, I do my part. I make sure she takes a bath, cook dinner for her and all of the things one would expect being a dad.
Being on the road does give time for introspection. I visualize what my daughter is doing to drive my wife nuts, what she is getting into that she is not supposed to and how she is doing overall. Moreover, I think about what she will be like when she gets older. What her interests will be and what type of person she will be. My wife and I hope to raise her our little girl to have respect and become a respectful and productive member of society.
Yes, she will have her drawbacks, but we are human. I wonder what she will do for an occupation. It amazes me when I look at pictures of her and she how much she has grown in a little over two years.
I think of all those things and more when I am at work I realize how much I miss her and the little cute things she does.
She will tell her dolls to go night night and put a wash cloth over them as a blanket, make believe the doll went poop and have to change its diaper, etc.
It is a special time in your life when your child is growing right in front of your eyes. Cherish it and make it last as long as possible because there is an adult waiting to spring up on you when you least expect it.
George
November 25th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
Being on the road is a drag. My summer between two years of grad school, I sampled the consulting life. On a plane every Monday morning from Boston to Texas. Was rough on my marriage, and this even before we had a baby. I turned down the chance to return to that firm - landing somewhere that sends me on the road only every few months. Still, I know those times are rough on my wife - and I feel guilty for enjoying the lavish accommodations and fine food on the company dime, plus uninterrupted nights of sleep - while my wife is home, picking up all the slack. Wrote more about this in my post “on the road again” at http://dadtoday.blogspot.com