The Perfect Balance?

[BoxCar_Willie]

Has anyone actually acheived the perfect balance between work and family and your spouse?

If I work too much, not enough family time.
Too much family/wife time, not enough money.

I believe I could do it but I haven't reached that level of discipline with my schedule.
If you've figured this out, how old when the light came on?

 

[BuckBackHome]

Nope and I am not sure if there is one perfect balance. Priorities change depending on the situation. My wife and I do pretty well balancing everything except time for ourselves. We are making a concentrated effort to improve that.

 

[gbearbuck]

what's a wife?

oh, that lady I married several years ago...

I'm fortunate in the fact we both work 60 or so hours a week... when we finally start a family, I'm sure it will not be as smooth as it is now...

 

[ScriptOhio]

<TABLE class=tborder cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=6 width="100%" align=center border=0><TBODY><TR><TD class=thead colSpan=2>Today 11:14 PM</TD></TR><TR title="Post 539719" vAlign=top><TD class=alt1 align=middle width=125>gbearbuck</TD><TD class=alt2>what's a wife?

</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

My question is: What's work?

 

[tedginn05]

I usually forget all of that, and devote my time to BP.:tongue2:

Now theres perfect balance.

 

[DEBuckeye]

Nope and I am not sure if there is one perfect balance. Priorities change depending on the situation. My wife and I do pretty well balancing everything except time for ourselves. We are making a concentrated effort to improve that.

That sounds like our house, too. We've been trying to figure out how to get more time for ourselves, but by the time everything's settled down for the day we're both too tired to do much of anything.

As far as work goes, now that my little guy (1 yr old son) is around, I'm much less concerned with putting in extra hours or working at home. I'd rather spend time with him before he goes to bed.

 

[LoKyBuckeye]

I don't think there will ever be the perfect balance... too many things going on and as the kids get older it will be more and more difficult. The only time my wife and I had time togther without the kids was usually after they went to bed... well now I'm in bed before them since I get up at 4am. We only have Friday nights alone togther and that's if she's not working. Life is crazy and you have to deal with it....

 

[BuckeyeRyn]

Life is definitely crazy, balancing work, kids, spouse, ailing parents, etc... but life is what you make it...

What I try to do is simple... Largest rule around our house, first and foremost, leave work at work... Home should be your safe haven, away from it all.

Secondly, your kids are only one young once... spend time with them, play with them, the housework/yardwork, etc will get done somehow...

Thirdly, spouses... take at least 2 nights a month and get a sitter for just you two to go out... albeit out with a group of friends or just the two of, a night out sans kiddos is a MUST. It keeps your sanity...

If you both work, divide the household chores, its only fair. Also, remember, the little things in life can keep you connected to your spouse that don't require much time... a phone call mid day to say "hey, i was just thinking of you and wanted to thank you for going through this thing called life with me" Tape a note to a bathroom mirror that might just say "i love you" little things like that don't take time nor money but speak volumes...

and last but not least, don't beat yourself up if you haven't obtained the perfect balance yet, just keep working at it.. don't roll over and say "this balance shit is too much, i can't and will never be able to make it all work" that is the easy way out...

 

[Jagdaddy]

Has anyone actually acheived the perfect balance between work and family and your spouse?

If I work too much, not enough family time.
Too much family/wife time, not enough money.

I believe I could do it but I haven't reached that level of discipline with my schedule.
If you've figured this out, how old when the light came on?

Apparently not. My Mother-in-law wants us to attend a family reunion in Nashville at the end of July. My wife wants no part of it (she hated the last family reunion in a small town in Indiana), and while I'm more neutral, spending a grand or so to eat hot dogs in 100 degrees of pure humidity doesn't sound that exciting. Somehow my brother-in-law, who's a good guy but can do no wrong in his Mom's eyes, isn't going either but is getting no pressure to go. Making matters worse, within the last week or two Southwest has started advertising new cheap direct flights from Denver to Nashville, sticking reminders in everyone's faces every day.

To top things off, we're spending a week with my parents, who live in Columbus, and now MIL's trying to play the "you have time for his family" card . . . Never mind that my wife's parents live just a few miles away, we see them all the time, the next holiday I spend with my parents will be the first in years, and it's my PARENTS, who I see a couple of times a year, not a bunch of cousins for almost never come out our way. My MIL's usually cool, but her unwillingness to give on this is really starting to irritate me.

I suppose that didn't answer your question much, but I needed to rant . . .