And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon Little boy blue and the man on the moon When you comin’ home, son And I don’t know when, but we’ll get together then, Dad
Well, sadly, that song finally came true for me. My youngest son visited for the holidays, but he had to work almost every day.
Thankfully, he can work remotely. But still… He was too busy to interact with us as much as I would have liked.
I can’t blame him, though. I worked way too much when I had a corporate job. The kids wanted to play with me more often than I could with my tech career in Silicon Valley.
I often worked late and missed dinner with my family.
I would get home late after my long commute, and the kids were already asleep.
I would get up early to beat traffic to work, and the kids were still in bed.
I missed soccer games, days at the beach, trips to the park, and more because I had to work on so many things the company said were oh-so-important, but ultimately were not at all.
So, I guess this message is for the younger parents who still have time to avoid the mistakes I made.
Push back on work more often, so you can spend more time with your children.
Take those breaks when they want to play with you. I know it’s hard! But it will be worth it.
Work remotely as much as you can, since that gives you more freedom with your schedule and no time wasted on a commute.
Take your vacation days, leave work at home, and thoroughly enjoy time with your family.
Jobs come and go, but your family is forever. Don’t damage your relationship with your children to make some idiotic boss happy who would lay you off in a heartbeat if the corporation told them to.
No, you DO NOT get the time back later. You won’t get the same chances to spend time together later. Everyone thinks you will, but you don’t. Your children are only young children ONCE.
There may come a day when you have time for them, but guess what? They will no longer have much time for you. They will be busy with their own lives, careers, and families, just like you were.
I hope you make the most of the time you have with them now. I hope you can help guide them down a path of career flexibility so they can spend time with their own children and you, too.
The regret of lost time with them is extraordinarily painful. Trust me.
Schedule a complimentary call with me and let’s chat!
I’m Larry Cornett, Ph.D., an Empowerment Coach who works with ambitious professionals to help them reclaim their power, become more invincible, and create better opportunities for their work and lives. Do more of what you love and less of what you hate! 📕 Check out my Invincible Daily Journals. I have one specifically for Winter!
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Seriously true. 100%