Life

Saturday night my 6-year-old son started complaining that his stomach was hurting. In typical dad fashion, I said, “Come on, you’re a tough guy; you’ll be OK.” But after a while, it became clear that he was in a lot of pain. The doctor sent us to the emergency room. Turns out the little guy had appendicitis. He had an appendectomy Sunday, and is doing well. In fact, as I write this on Monday, the hard part is trying to keep him from hopping back on his bike.

Times like these remind me about what is most important in my life. Achieving a healthy balance between work and home life is always difficult. Especially with a dual career family and a demanding job. I’ll admit, I’m a recovering workaholic (the recovering part might be debatable, but this is my blog, so I can write whatever I want). I demand a lot from myself and always try to exceed customer expectations. But I think the key to having a life outside of work is to focus on the high-priority tasks while at work and use my time efficiently. Then I can focus on what’s truly important to me – my family – when I’m not at work.

That doesn’t mean I always get it right, but spending a little time at Children’s Hospital reminded me about what I truly value in life.