I work hard. I work long hours in a job many would never consider. I work with amazing people who get a lot of criticism, especially at the moment about being bad or corrupt or whatever. The truth is we are so understaffed that a lot of us are doing a bunch of OT just to cover basic staffing for each day. Sure this is a good thing on one hand. On the other though, is my munchkins. I'm away from home before they get up and get back just before the youngest's bed time. Then with all the extra shifts, I don't even get my normal days off. There comes a time when you have to make a choice. The work hours (money) or time with the kids playing silly games and nagging them to clean their rooms.
On one hand it seems like an easy choice. The money of course, no I mean the kids.
Because when it comes down to it sometimes it's not all that easy. I have a past that, not too long ago, meant we survived pay cheque to pay cheque. Now we have a little leeway. Not as much as you might think but there is a reason for that, it's a choice we made about our priorities.
We have made the choice to have mini breaks this year. Sure we lack in some things but we have the opportunity to take the munchkins out to experience things we haven't previously been able to afford, like the Gold Coast. Also hubby and I are getting our first holiday sans kids shortly.
My biggest struggle at the moment is my baby (who isn't really a baby anymore) who is waking up stupid early to say she misses me when I go to work, and quite often she says she doesn't want me to go. I reassure her that I'll be fine and I'll see her when I come home. I've also made a promise to her that in a little while, on a set date I will be having seven days off and I promise not to do OT or shift swaps into that time.
Would the extra money be helpful? You bet, especially with the hits we took in the last budget. Sometimes though the choice really is that easy. Compromise. The thing with compromise is you as the adult need to keep your word. It's no good promising that 'I'll be home here if you just let me do the extra work now,' if on the allotted date, you realise you've forgotten about a bill and you go do that OT anyway.
Children matter, they are our most valuable possession. We need to raise them to respect a good work ethic, to develop a good work ethic and to value the truly important things in life - each other.
Take the time to embrace that which really matters. Feed the heart and you'll find some things you though were hugely important, really aren't.
