Are there times when you work through a week, and it felt like two weeks or more? As we pursue our dreams, we sometimes forget to relax and de-stress, and sometimes we don’t spend enough time with our family.
In January, I decided that now is the best time for me to change as I reflected on the challenges of 2020.
As bad as 2020 was, there were many opportunities for us as individuals and business owners to balance work and family.
Work and Family
Building relationships is essential. Building a positive relationship with our family is also extremely important. Some people sacrifice family for a business and then live to regret it.
Therefore we need to be very careful as we share our time when it comes to balancing work and family; let’s not have any regrets.
There are times when we fail to see the value in front of us, and sometimes others have to point it out to us. It reminds me of the story, “Acres of Diamonds”; there is so much value around us we sometimes miss it.
Don’t get me wrong, business is essential, but so, too, is family.
Beach Day
Last weekend I decided that next weekend it’s the beach; I live on an island and have not been to the beach in five years; yes, you heard me, five years.
It starts with me; I have to change. So at least once a month, we will be on the beach. We live on the island of Trinidad in Trinidad and Tobago. However, we are better known for Carnival, and as a result of Covid-19, we didn’t have any this year.
For those of you who have been to our island or live here, you know the drive to Maracas beach is very scenic and today was a beautiful sunny day. On the drive up, I kept saying, this feels great; I forgot how beautiful the drive to Maracas beach is.
Work and Family Balance
We shouldn’t get lost in business because it’s supposed to be a way for us to generate an income to take care of our family’s needs.
You may have heard the saying, “Are you eating to live or are you living to eat,” which means eat enough to live, don’t be a glutton.
Of course, I also understand that there are instances where some people don’t have a choice when it comes to work; because of their circumstances, they need to work longer hours.
Today I am reaching out to those of us who can adjust, and if you do, do it for the family’s sake. We should try our very best to strike a balance; we can also play board games with them.
The Look-Out
Anyway, back to the day at the beach; allow me to share some pictures of the day with you; the drive from my home to the beach is about forty minutes – twenty minutes of that drive takes you over a mountain which gives you a beautiful view of the Caribbean Sea.
About midway over the hills, you can stop at a point we call “The Look-Out” to get some refreshments and use your camera to capture the surroundings’ beauty.
One of my favorite snacks at The Look-Out is pineapple chow. Yummy. One of my Jamaican brethren says he doesn’t know why Trinis like to spoil fruits by adding spices, and that’s the best way to describe it; it’s seasoned slices of pineapple, and boy, it’s great!
Family Fun
When we got to the beach, it looked different. The car park is now bigger, and the food stalls were not on the side with the car park as they were before.
They are currently on the same side as the beach. Our first stop was Richard’s Bake and Shark, one of the most popular fast-food establishments on the beach and our favorite after parking.
We got our meal, then we got beach chairs and an umbrella, and we were all set for a day of family fun.
My son couldn’t make it, but my wife, daughter, and I had a ball. My daughter looked at me and said, “Daddy, I am enjoying this,” and it’s not to say that we don’t do things on the weekend, but it was a long time since we went to the beach.
Quality Time
My wife looked on as my daughter, and I played in the water; she later told me how nice it was to see us out there having fun.
We missed our son as he was, unfortunately, suffering the consequences of unacceptable behavior. My daughter kept saying her brother would have enjoyed this day.
I have been looking for different things to do with them on the weekend because I thought about the effects of social distancing and the travel restrictions on them; read about some of the effects here.
They are still doing online schooling from home, so they are not getting the opportunity to interact with their friends at school. That interaction is also online, so if I don’t make time for them, they will be home 24/7, which is not right, and it’s not fair.
Conclusion
As employers, employees and parents, we should take a moment to think about our children and what they may be going through during this period. When I was a child, I never went through anything like this – I was outside and among friends.
Balancing our work and family life is not only crucial for us; it is also vital for our children as they grow. The balanced life we live now will help our children cope, and it may also help us perform better in our business or be a better employee. S.F.B.
