(The shortest version of this has already been shared on my Instagram feed, just in case you follow me there and parts sound familiar.)
Monday to Friday I teach elementary school. School breaks are when I work at an outdoor camp. At little odds and ends of time is when I write here and also continue my journey to be a storyteller and novelist. And up until about a year ago I also taught private English lessons a few times a month.
It has been a fun, if busy, way to live and the extra cash from so many jobs has always helped. But there is a toll that needs to be paid. I could go on about being tired more often than I’d like. Or how that tiredness can also lead to a lack of patience if I’m not careful.
But instead I want to focus on my family. My son is four and every day spent with him is a gift. My daughter is only ten months and is just as much of a blessing.
I’ve mentioned it before, but this last winter was one of the rare times I didn’t sign on to a camp and just spent a holiday with my family. Even with all of us getting the flu, it was amazing. I was rested and just there with everyone having fun and making my wife’s life easier since she wasn’t having to tend the kids solo.
I also got to write more, but that seems beside the point.
Today was our first Sunday since my work and the kid’s daycare restarted, and with our work schedules Sunday is our first full day all together.
As we were having lunch my son just turned to me and said:
“I want to pretend that I won’t have daycare in April.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I love home and want to play with Daddy everyday.”
Even just typing it here I want to go give that kid another hug.
But, instead I’m thinking about the future, and what I need to commit myself to. And I’m thinking about the past and how much I have missed by trying to extend myself too far.
I’m looking at my family and wondering if hat is best for them and for me.
And now that they are asleep, I write. And I find myself writing about what is important to me. I write about them.
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Deadly Troubadour 