Homecoming
December 22 – December 23, 2005
As I come up the walk the door flies open and a beautiful 12 year old girl in stocking feet jumps into my arms. Madeleine was too excited to see me to go to bed. Amanda is waiting at the door and give me a quick kiss and a welcome home. She is still cleaning the house and although it is close to 11:00 pm she has more to do before she can go to bed.
It has been a tough month for the family. Although my departure was toughest on my daughter, I think the entire experience was toughest on my wife. Soon after I left there was 16 inches of snow to clear. Then there was the driving to and from Madeleine’s school – 40-minutes each way. Even with a car pool there is a lot of driving. Her veterinary business takes another chunk of time and house calls are not very efficient and are hard on the body carrying bags in and out. All this left little time for housework and almost no time for going to the gym and doing other things to take care of herself.
While it would have been nice to return to a relaxed week of R&R and TLC with the family, this was not our current reality. Instead my return brought a touch of relief that there was another pair of hands to help get things caught up before I was gone again.
A big issue for a contract consultant and especially a contract consultant’s family is the lack of financial security. This contract provides enough to cover us into April but will there be another contract in time to carry past tax day? Can we find a reasonably priced health insurance policy that covers more than what our present policy does?
Today, what I need and want are not the same as what they need, want and are capable of providing. On the other hand, I have not yet built my consulting practice up enough to provide the resources for what they want and need in order to provide what I want and need. It is not that we want something different or do not want to be there for each other. We are just not at a point this year where that is possible.
I am hopeful that the work I have done and the relationships I have built will bare fruit with a prosperous 2006. But hope is not security. And the work that people want me to do often means travel. How do you balance these needs? A regular 9:00 to 5:00 local job would provide security but not the interesting challenges and opportunity to make a difference that my current work brings. And while there would be a regular paycheck there is likely less opportunity for building some wealth. We have had to deplete some of our retirement funds to get to this point. Will next year bring more of the same or be the turning point. If I settle for less will I have changed paths just before the investment is to pay off or wil I have stopped throwing good money after bad? Only God knows. All I can do is let go and put it is his hands.
As I come up the walk the door flies open and a beautiful 12 year old girl in stocking feet jumps into my arms. Madeleine was too excited to see me to go to bed. Amanda is waiting at the door and give me a quick kiss and a welcome home. She is still cleaning the house and although it is close to 11:00 pm she has more to do before she can go to bed.
It has been a tough month for the family. Although my departure was toughest on my daughter, I think the entire experience was toughest on my wife. Soon after I left there was 16 inches of snow to clear. Then there was the driving to and from Madeleine’s school – 40-minutes each way. Even with a car pool there is a lot of driving. Her veterinary business takes another chunk of time and house calls are not very efficient and are hard on the body carrying bags in and out. All this left little time for housework and almost no time for going to the gym and doing other things to take care of herself.
While it would have been nice to return to a relaxed week of R&R and TLC with the family, this was not our current reality. Instead my return brought a touch of relief that there was another pair of hands to help get things caught up before I was gone again.
A big issue for a contract consultant and especially a contract consultant’s family is the lack of financial security. This contract provides enough to cover us into April but will there be another contract in time to carry past tax day? Can we find a reasonably priced health insurance policy that covers more than what our present policy does?
Today, what I need and want are not the same as what they need, want and are capable of providing. On the other hand, I have not yet built my consulting practice up enough to provide the resources for what they want and need in order to provide what I want and need. It is not that we want something different or do not want to be there for each other. We are just not at a point this year where that is possible.
I am hopeful that the work I have done and the relationships I have built will bare fruit with a prosperous 2006. But hope is not security. And the work that people want me to do often means travel. How do you balance these needs? A regular 9:00 to 5:00 local job would provide security but not the interesting challenges and opportunity to make a difference that my current work brings. And while there would be a regular paycheck there is likely less opportunity for building some wealth. We have had to deplete some of our retirement funds to get to this point. Will next year bring more of the same or be the turning point. If I settle for less will I have changed paths just before the investment is to pay off or wil I have stopped throwing good money after bad? Only God knows. All I can do is let go and put it is his hands.
posted by J Corlss at 11:56 AM
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