Changing Things Around

I had both been looking forward to and dreading this past week for months because of the many long nights that were on my schedule. I knew that things would be different by this time of year with our son having arrived and while I wanted to get out and get back to my previous routine I was also dreading being away from our baby for so many nights in a row. This week was originally planned so that I would be at the lodge on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. At best I was expecting that I could miss Tuesday but that didn’t change the fact that I would be out late the other two nights.

This week just goes to show that sometimes you just have to trust the plan that has been laid out before us. With the first front moving in on Tuesday the first night of my week was quickly taken off the table. This was a change that I had contemplated previously so there wasn’t much of a difference on my end. On Wednesday night the schedule remained the same and I was at the lodge catching up with my brothers but, at this point, Thursday night, our state meeting night, was questionable at best. By the time I left for the lodge after work on Wednesday, the stated meeting had been postponed and my week opened up.

It was still hard to be away from my wife and son during the night but at least I was able to slowly get back into things rather than having multiple obligations taking me away from family throughout the week. However, knowing how much I missed them for those few extra hours out of the office makes me wonder how I am going to handle my annual business trip at the end of the month. I guess it is going to take some to get used to the idea and this new reality.

For now, I was only out late once this week and I will be out late once next week as well. Hopefully things will move as quickly as they are currently planned and that my son doesn’t wait up for me like he did on Wednesday. While I hate being away, even for a few extra hours at the end of the day, it is at least occasional and brings be back to a modified routine. It may not be perfectly measured at this point but I will continue measuring the different proportions and gauging where and when I need to remove some things from my schedule.

Returning To The Office

Before our son arrived I had sat down with some of the people at work and we put a plan together as to how many days I would be taking off and how long I would be out of the office. Well, that plan didn’t fit neatly into the schedule that we all had in mind. However, the basic timeline that we had come up with worked out pretty well when the early arrival happened.

For the past week and a half I have been getting up I the morning, sitting at the kitchen table, and doing my best to get all the work done that I would normally take care of at the office. Occasionally I would step away from the computer to change the baby or go to CVS and pick up some essentials absent from our home. It may not have been the most efficient means to get work done but it was completely manageable and I was able to both spend some time with my wife and son and catch up on a few things that needed to get taken care of. The commute was pretty good too.

After two weeks away from the office, I got in my car in the early morning and drove the 40 minutes down the highway. It was both difficult to leave my family and a welcomed return to my routine. However, it didn’t take long before I noticed just how different things were from the time I walked out the door in the middle of the last month. In addition to the many conversations with colleagues and requests for more pictures, I noticed the photo above when I walked into the kitchen to make my first cup of coffee.

I had completed the trifecta of children posted on the fridge over the past year with two of my colleagues posting pictures of their sons when they were born last year. Three men from the office had three sons… the women have a lot of catching up to do. It has almost become a tradition now to post the photos of the new additions to the work family.

Thankfully, I was able to enjoy the moments of coming back to the office after such a long time away and soon found myself getting back into my routine. It was also nice to be around people, around friends, rather than being limited to conversations over the phone. But while it was great to be back it didn’t take long before I was looking forward to going home and holding my son. Yes, things have changed quite a bit.