Dads Balancing Home and Career

Excerpt from an article by Eileen Rife in Virginia

Lifetime Growth News www.iwanttomakemymarriagework.com

Permission given to use this excerpt

Note from Lois: Although this newsletter is for women, you may want to share these tips with your husband.

Balancing home and career might be easier than you think if you try a few of these simple suggestions.

1)   Schedule date times with your wife and each child.

Rarely does an event happen these days unless it is penciled in on the calendar. Sit down with your family and decide on the best days of the week to spend alone time with each member. Overwhelmed by this thought? Think in small chunks of time. A twenty minute park trip with three-year-old Johnny is better than no park trip at all with dad. A fifteen minute board game on the floor in twelve-year-old Elisa's room is better than no game at all. Measurable goals are more easily attained. Don't wait for the BIG blocks of time. Make use of the SMALL CHUNKS and get it on the calendar so that you don't forget.

2)   If your job requires you to travel frequently, make tapes/videos for your wife and children to view while you are away.

Read a portion of Scripture and pray. Tell a story or some of your favorite jokes. If you sing or play an instrument, share a song on the tape or video. In this way you can invest in your family's life even when you are away! Many younger children especially enjoy listening to tapes at bedtime. Hearing daddy's voice can be a tremendous comfort and reassurance.

3)   Call home during breaks at work just to say "I love you; I miss you. How's your day going?"

4)   Leave notes for your wife and kids if your schedules are so varied that you don't see each other during the day.

Post sticky notes on the bathroom mirror, in dresser drawers, on the kitchen counter, or in the car. Even short phrases, like "Praying for your exam today" or "I'll be thinking about you during team tryouts" can be touching reminders to those you love that you are thinking about them throughout the day and that you keep abreast of what is happening in THEIR world.

5)   Make frequent use of hugs when you ARE home!

Even an arm around the shoulder or a pat on the back accompanied by a warm smile can reassure a family member that you are there, even if the encounter is brief.

In short, CARPE DIEM! SEIZE THE DAY! Or at least small chunks of it to invest time in your family's life. Yes, you are a busy man, but balancing home and career might just be easier than you think if you use the time you DO have to invest in your family's lives.