Growing up, my Dad worked nonstop. Terms like ‘work-a-holic’ don’t even apply to military families, because there is no such thing as a nonworking day. Even if he did have a day off, he was changing the oil in the car or dumping my clothes drawers on the floor during a room inspection (drawers not neat, everything on the floor!) My brother and I proudly reasoned that his obsession was due to a higher calling and we did our best to understand.
Then he retired from the Navy and took a real job. And worked just as much. Then we realized that no, in fact, Dad was just a work-addict.
A little more than a month ago, Dad took a new job. Since getting that job, he’s worked from home during the day, come home before 6pm, and gone on vacation. Maybe these sound normal for some, but for my Dad, it singles major alarm. Even my Mom has been complaining that she has no idea what to do with my Dad around the house more than 10 minutes a day. Is this his mid-life crisis? Or maybe worse, could he have been given some sort of terrible diagnosis and is busy working on a bucket list? We wondered.
But I think I’ve figured it out. After meeting who he’s working with, I realize that it’s not that he is a machine. It’s that this is the first time he has not worked for crazy people. Amazingly, when faced with a normal work situation that places realistic demands on it’s employees, he began to act normally. It gives me faith for the future… if only other companies and managers and bosses and government entities could do the same, maybe we can turn this ship around.
So my happy Dad and still-i-shock-Mom just came back from Vegas, where they saw Elton John and Bette Middler. (My Dad was thrilled with their 2nd row seats, “when she slapped her thigh, we could HEAR her slapping her thigh!”) They followed up the shows with 4 days in a resort in Death Valley. Wow. So, here he is, our new Dad.
julie | 18-Nov-08 at 5:00 pm | Permalink
So very glad to hear that (and it gives me hope for myself, too!)