Recently i had a conversation with a fellow co-worker which i could not get out of my head i work weekends and so does she this is the type of worker who rarely takes holidays or has barely ever used a sick day. Her child lives in QLD and she had informed me that some of her friends in QLD were throwing her a surprise 21st birthday party my first thought was how nice than my mind quickly jumped to the fact of why wasn't she there? 21 is such an important birthday in anyone's lifetime i thought couldn't she have taken just one weekend off pay $50 for an aeroplane ticket and be there for that important milestone in her daughters life.
Now i know that different people have different priorities in their life and i shouldn't judge but i put this question to a few people i know and everybody had the same reply they would have moved heaven and earth to be there for their child. I don't have children yet because that would require for a start a boyfriend but i couldn't help but judge and that's when i came to the question when has work become more important than family?
I know that the global financial crisis made alot of people value their jobs, work harder so they felt their job was safe, but does that mean you should miss your child's first words or first day of school or as the case here their 21st birthday. Is the almighty dollar more important than your child's happiness?
What made me the most saddest is when do you get to the point when your whole life is about your job you eat, breathe, shit, live your job can't think of anything else everything in the workplace is your business even if it doesn't pertain to you. I felt sorry for this woman she is not the boss but feels if she is not around the business would fall apart.
To end my thought, i hope one day this does not become me, so preoccupied by my job that i don't stop to smell the roses, make everlasting memories with my family and i hope that i realise saving $50 isn't more important to me than visiting my child.
In my family, family always comes first!
I had to think about this long and hard - it took days of consideration, when really I suppose it should be a simple response. The short of it is, I guess as with everything in life, there is no black and white - every family is different, just as every person within that family is different. Would I make a point of being home for a (hypothetical) child's birthday? Definitely - but I'd like to think that I'd have a good relationship with my child. I don't have a great relationship with my parents, and as such, holidays have become a non-celebration for us...
ReplyDeleteThis topic has brought a lot to mind for me. Would you mind if I blog my response to it? (of course crediting you with starting the debate?)