Monday, October 31, 2011

Work-Life Balance-Must Be Hard Being a Parent

After a looong hiatus from working, I'm finally back on the corporate ladder. I'm still struggling to climb it, mind you. But as a friend of mine bluntly put it: I need to get back on the climb to forge a career. Being off the market too long will set me back to fresh-grad level. And when that happens, I already have a wide enough age disadvantage. So here I am again. Making money is so not easy! I've had a very happy career impasse and I miss it everyday haha!

I'm barely a month and a half into my job. And I can't remember ever being so tired. Of course, I'm not the fresh grad I used to be. But I can't be considered old yet either. However, I find myself ridiculously sleepy at 9pm, when I used to be a raging insomniac. Of course, my daily pace has changed. But I was used to a similar pace before the impasse and I had struggled to get my eyes shut at 12pm or worse 2pm. Ah, aging.

So this physical toll has gotten me thinking about how difficult it must be to be a parent. I don't have a family yet. And I don't see it happening all too soon either. But I just wondered, if I did have a husband and kids, how would I manage to take care of them after a grueling day at work? I'm too tired as it is. And I don't even have other responsibilities other than myself! I feel it must be very difficult.

Now, when I get home, I need some quiet time to relax. If I had kids, they'd bombard me with pleas for attention, food or homework. I feel I'm too selfish to manage at the moment. But I do have a larger sense of appreciation for the parents who do such a good job of providing and nurturing their families. It must be exhausting. But you're all angels for managing and carrying on.

My own parents are prime examples. After a long day, they humor us by listening to our petty trials, tribulations and endless rants. All this after an hour with an irrational boss, heated business review or unreasonable client who's bent on raising hell must not be easy. They ask us about our day when we don't even think to ask them about theirs. We ask so much of our parents: material things, emotional stability and mental guidance. But who takes care of their needs and feelings? Who gives them an hour of silence to gather their thoughts and bearings?

If you have a good parent, appreciate them. Think about it, what they do for us, all they do for us, is really hard. But they do it because they love us. God bless them :)