6:00am. I step out into the cool, pre-dawn air. The street is silent and still. The sky is clear and dark and Mars is shining redder than I have ever seen. Venus is just cresting the hill top to the east of my house. I breath in the day and can't help but marvel at the celestial spectacle as I head off to work knowing that I may go all day with out a glimpse of the sun, which in and of itself, by contrast, makes me a bit sad.
With some major changes at my place of employment, I have found myself in a precarious position. I have, by necessity, taken on the workload of a second person and suffice it to say, I have been working long days and 6 to 7 days a week. I am at the top rung of the company ladder and feel the weight of dozens of others dangling below me, knowing all too well that much of their livelihood is dependent upon me doing my job correctly and efficiently. Talk about pressure.
The irony is that I left my company behind 4 1/2 years ago to leave that feeling and burden behind me by working for somebody else. I am not trying to sound prideful, unthankful, or arrogant; I know that if I left or if something happened to me, the company would be fine and there would be others happy to step into my shoes. I am thankful for my job and love the people I work with and work for. My point is that, sometimes I wish I didn't care so much. I work my ass off because I know that others are relying on me to land contracts that will ultimately give them the means to put food on their own table. It has been a rough couple of months for me as the company goes through this transitional period. I don't mind the long hours, the spread sheets, number crunching, problem solving, etc. , but what I do mind is the reduced amount of time I have to spend with my family. I would not be doing this if it was not temporary. There is no amount of money that is more precious to me than the time that I can spend with my family. I miss them and I know they miss me.
While I have been busy with work, Melanie has been busy potty training Orion. This blog is long over due as we declared victory in mid January and now it is early March and I am just getting around to finishing this post. Yes Orion is potty trained and I have to give Melanie 100% credit for this. I think it was a 70%/30% effort with Apollo, but as busy as I have been, and with Orion refusing to wear diapers any longer, Melanie stepped up to the challenge and made it happen. I have to tell you that we had a few heated discussions about potty training this past December. Melanie was ready to throw in the towel and take a break for a few months, and I wanted her to keep going. Trust me, she did not bend to my will at all; through research she found that stopping the process of potty training would send mixed signals to Orion and possibly make potty training harder. So, Melanie bared down and spent the better part of three whole days sitting on the bathroom floor reading stories and putting on puppet shows for Orion as he sat upon his potty chair.
She did employ one of my tactics though; bribery. It worked like a charm for Apollo. Offering up a small toy for each success. Apollo potty trained a lot quicker than Orion, but Apollo milked the prizes for months. Orion, on the other hand, realized that he was being bribed and after a few days he quit asking for a toy for every turd.
It is almost like finding a stash of money once you are done potty training. We spent a small fortune on diapers and wipes. It seamed like every other week we bought a case of each. Diapers and wipes alone made a Costco membership necessary.
The baby phase is done in our house. I have mixed emotions this. While I am glad to be rid of diapers, I really miss the little baby that was so easily held, took midday naps, and was happy to sit in the bike trailer on long bike rides. on the other hand, I am looking forward to all the things we can start doing now that Orion is older and more able.
The surplus diapers have become a bed wetting safety net while the wipes are now for hands faces instead of wiping butts, and I am basking in the glory of the sweet smell of success.
The irony is that I left my company behind 4 1/2 years ago to leave that feeling and burden behind me by working for somebody else. I am not trying to sound prideful, unthankful, or arrogant; I know that if I left or if something happened to me, the company would be fine and there would be others happy to step into my shoes. I am thankful for my job and love the people I work with and work for. My point is that, sometimes I wish I didn't care so much. I work my ass off because I know that others are relying on me to land contracts that will ultimately give them the means to put food on their own table. It has been a rough couple of months for me as the company goes through this transitional period. I don't mind the long hours, the spread sheets, number crunching, problem solving, etc. , but what I do mind is the reduced amount of time I have to spend with my family. I would not be doing this if it was not temporary. There is no amount of money that is more precious to me than the time that I can spend with my family. I miss them and I know they miss me.
While I have been busy with work, Melanie has been busy potty training Orion. This blog is long over due as we declared victory in mid January and now it is early March and I am just getting around to finishing this post. Yes Orion is potty trained and I have to give Melanie 100% credit for this. I think it was a 70%/30% effort with Apollo, but as busy as I have been, and with Orion refusing to wear diapers any longer, Melanie stepped up to the challenge and made it happen. I have to tell you that we had a few heated discussions about potty training this past December. Melanie was ready to throw in the towel and take a break for a few months, and I wanted her to keep going. Trust me, she did not bend to my will at all; through research she found that stopping the process of potty training would send mixed signals to Orion and possibly make potty training harder. So, Melanie bared down and spent the better part of three whole days sitting on the bathroom floor reading stories and putting on puppet shows for Orion as he sat upon his potty chair.
She did employ one of my tactics though; bribery. It worked like a charm for Apollo. Offering up a small toy for each success. Apollo potty trained a lot quicker than Orion, but Apollo milked the prizes for months. Orion, on the other hand, realized that he was being bribed and after a few days he quit asking for a toy for every turd.
It is almost like finding a stash of money once you are done potty training. We spent a small fortune on diapers and wipes. It seamed like every other week we bought a case of each. Diapers and wipes alone made a Costco membership necessary.
The baby phase is done in our house. I have mixed emotions this. While I am glad to be rid of diapers, I really miss the little baby that was so easily held, took midday naps, and was happy to sit in the bike trailer on long bike rides. on the other hand, I am looking forward to all the things we can start doing now that Orion is older and more able.
The surplus diapers have become a bed wetting safety net while the wipes are now for hands faces instead of wiping butts, and I am basking in the glory of the sweet smell of success.
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