I had one of those aha" moments at the collision of work and life recently.
While I was supposed to be playing with my 2-year-old daughter ("two and a HALF"), I kept feeling a terrible compulsion to get online and plow through some emails and writing assignments. So I went with it, getting up from doing a puzzle with my daughter to fire up the computer just for a moment. The moment turned to minutes.
"Mommy, come here. Do a puzzle with me," she called from the living room.
"One minute, honey, I'll be right there," I said, typing away.
Minutes passed.
"Mommy! Come! Here! Now!" she demanded.
"I'll be right there, honey," I said, typing away.
More time passed.
"Mommy! Put that computer down!" she insisted as she grabbed for my arm.
"Hold on," I said, "One more second."
She reached over to my keyboard and grabbed my finger. I was stunned by the iron grip and actually couldn't break loose.
"Honey!"
"Mommy! Put that computer down NOW!" she ordered as she pulled and tugged at my finger tight in her little fist.
Why was I fighting her? She was right. I was wrong. I nearly burst into tears when I realized how my compulsive need to work and "get things done" meant that I was causing my child such distress. Had it really come to the point that she had to physically use all of her tiny might to drag me from my computer? And was that really me practically kicking and screaming?
And all of this...on a Sunday?
I have to be much more conscious of my computer time. My husband tells me this all the time, but hearing it from my daughter - my toddler - just hit home a lot harder.
Do you have a difficult time pulling yourself away from your work to the detriment of your family relationships? What have you done about it?
