Friday, May 27, 2005

Just Another Friday

Fridays aren't my favourite day of the week. It's not that I dislike Fridays, it's just that since it is the last day of the workweek, I will be away from the 'action' for a couple of days. Sure, I am here in my office most Saturday mornings while my son is at German School, waiting to pick him up when his classes finish at noon, but that isn't quite the same. Saturday mornings I am already only partly engaged in this part of my life, my attentions are already elsewhere, like on weekend projects, family entertainment, and so on.

I like being at home too, spending time with my family, but that is a different dynamic altogether. For many years, it took me all weekend to wind down and relax, just in time to return to work again on Monday morning. On vacations, half of the allotted time was spent winding down, the other half winding up again in preparation to returning to work. These days, I relax as soon as I pull into my driveway at home and have no problem staying that way throughout the weekend. It took a lot of effort and introspection on my part to learn to let go, but it was worth it. We should not be defined entirely by our careers. Life is about more than what we do to earn a living. I made many mistakes over the years while I tried to build my businesses. I hope I learned from them. I certainly learned that family is more important than career. I also understand that the health of any family depends, at least in part, on having the financial wherewithal to pay the bills and to allow for at least some leisure. So, I guess the idea is to work to live, rather than live to work. Still, it's OK to combine those two notions, isn't it? I don't think they are mutually exclusive.

So, while I can appreciate TGIF, I would also like to add TGIM to the lexicon. I'll be enjoying my weekend, as I always do, but when Monday comes around again, as it inevitably does, I will embrace the day and look forward to the workweek ahead.

Have a great weekend.

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