Tuesday, September 13, 2005

And the rest of life...

Are you tired of the work drama yet?

It's hard, with such a primary focus on our careers to find a balance. In some ways, we're very lucky to be doing this together because it allows us to focus together. On the other hand, there are losses. We see so much of one another that there is no "alone" time for either of us. I want to work to reestablish a balance.

First on my priority list is SG. We've always been so fortunate that she's such a wonderful child, but I worry about her being swept along in our chaos. This weekend, we have a plan.

We've told her only that we have "plans" this weekend. We're not telling her anything more.

On Friday, we'll board our labrador retriever for the weekend. Early Saturday morning we will wake up, put SG in the car and be on the road. By the time she's fully awake, we should be arriving at Universal Studios in Orlando. EH won a pair of free tickets a few months back so it will be a discounted escape, but I think SG will really be thrilled. We'll spend the day playing and riding the rides and spend the night in a hotel before heading home early Sunday morning. I hope she'll see how special and important she is to us both by getting a nice "treat" with her parents.

Come Monday will be yet another change to our routine. The new job is a few more miles and will require us to adjust again. How wonderful that the powers we will be working with are comprised of people who know us and love us and understand our priorities.

I'm going to make a new rule. From here on, Sundays will be strictly family days. We will ask SG how she would like to spend the day and try to negotiate a few hours of genuine, quality family time. I need her to remain a central part in our lives.

Because this blog is so marriage focused, you don't hear much about our daughter. You couldn't even begin to guess how extraordinary she is. She's 9, gifted with a genius IQ and a heart of gold. She's the type of child who favors us with hugs and kisses, but can tease us as well as we tease her. She recently emptied her piggy bank into the Hurricane Katrina relief fund at school. She asks for nothing. She offers everything she has. She's happy to help her friends, us, neighbors... She is never in trouble, she never disrespects us and she rarely complains.

SG is an incredibly mature 9 years old. EH and I tend to think of her as our "3rd" in the house. She is often treated with the respect you might give to another adult and we welcome her input on every major decision. It holds a solid 1/3 weight in this house. She's earned it.

I'm excited about surprising her this weekend. Being her mom (and dad) has been the most rewarding blessing of our lives and EH and I are equally nuts over our little girl.

Posted by Anonymous :: 10:22 PM :: | ---------------------------------------