For Andrew Newton, work/life balance used to be all work. So what changed?
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I struggle with work/life balance. I used to be all work. It’s something I’m working on.
This morning I took my two-year-old daughter to the park to see the ducks. We sat and talked as the ducks went about their business even though I couldn’t understand most of what she said.
We walked the trails and enjoyed the last of the late summer morning. At the play area my daughter tried walking along the balance beams for the first time. She was nervous, and excited, and held my hand the entire time.
I watched her climb a chain ladder. She struggled at first but next thing she was looking down at me from the top smiling. She climbed up and down a dozen more times just because she could. There was nothing more important to her than making the next climb. Nothing more rewarding than the view from the top.
I used to feel like I needed to make our time together really count. Like I needed to plan something to do every day. Since taking the summer off after the birth of my son I’ve been trying to slow down. Work gets by without me. And my kids get to see more than three hours each day.
I’ve learned that my daughter doesn’t need a big adventure everyday. She just needs my time. Today I walked with her in the park. And that was all we needed.
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Photo: harshlight / flickr
Beautiful! Thank you!
I’m glad you liked it.