Monday, May 7, 2012

When Dad's Away

A few weeks ago we were at church, listening to a sermon about...something... and the pastor started telling a story about his recently deceased uncle and how good he was. I was kind of half listening; another sector of my mind busily compiling lists of things to do that Sunday, the week beyond and when A got home from his next trip. Then the pastor said something along the lines of "... and he turned down a good job making more money but travel to take a lessor job to be home every night with his kids." And I instantly bristled and felt so ... judged. And while I do believe that parents need to make sacrifices in the name of family once they have chosen to have children, I also believe that only a certain amount of sacrifice is healthy. I don't believe that skipping out on one's dream job and being unhappy every evening because you hate your job makes for a better family life or parental role model. I lived with a parent who hated their job.

My lasting irritation from that morning sermon was quelled when I read a post about similar experiences from Joanna here. She's much more eloquent that I can be on the subject. It's good to know we're all in this together.

(PS. This is my 300th post!)