Friday, May 15, 2009

Whiplash

A strange new set of duties has infiltrated my life. After spending a couple of weeks totally focused on work (grading papers, revising a journal article, writing a conference proposal) I now find myself making french toast for breakfast, running youngest to the dentist, calling the plumber, making up a sauce for barbecue ribs while helping my daughter finish her math.

It's an odd, whiplash kind of shift but it's good. It's good to slow down, fitting my life into the patterns of my children and wife; it's good to speed up, less time to think and analyze.

Well, off to take Hana to school--she put her foot down on attending gym for the last month (it's on Friday mornings) and we just couldn't care enough to fight her. She also won't walk: "Dad, there won't be a crossing guard!" she says in near hysteria.

Crossing guards seem like good idea, of course, but now my almost 12 year old daughter doesn't dare cross the road without one. Always costs and benefits.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Next door here. I'm glad my wife doesn't read your blog --- otherwise, she would tell you that your life is starting to resemble that of .... are you ready?....

A parent!! (Then she'd come over and belittle you; you know she would).

My Dad told me years ago he was never so busy as when he stopped working; I believe it.

Lisa B. said...

I often find that it helps restore me to spend awhile just living my life instead of acting like "doing my work" is my whole life. It's pretty good stuff--hope you're enjoying it.

Lisa B. said...

Re: your neighbor's dad's comment: I just had this very same conversation with my dad last night--he said he can't figure out how he ever had time to work, now that he's retired.

SH said...

hi Ron~ Are you going to try to keep up this job (or at least part of it) once your other job starts back up?

Counterintuitive said...

I've been doing part of it--grocery store runs on Sunday this past year, running kids around always, team cooking--but no I won't keep up at this level once work starts. I'd actually like to, rather, but that would require the wife having full-time work so I could ease up on my extra work stuff.