Family and Friends Come First

Family and friends should come first for all of us, and now, for me, they do. There was a time, when I was very young, driven and ambitious, that this might not have been true for me. Now, with the passing of time, it has become my credo.

When I was eight years old I knew what I wanted to be, but not how to achieve this goal. When I was sixteen I thought I knew it all. When I was in my twenties I was sure I knew all the answers, and now, in my fifties I am sure I don't.

When I was about eighteen I drew up a list of things to achieve in my lifetime, and by the time I was twenty one I had ticked almost all of the boxes. Some would say I have had the perfect career, but mostly in reverse!

The truth is that when I had climbed to the top of my first, self imposed, career mountain I quickly realized that I was just in the foothills of the Himalayas, and that there would always be another peak to climb.

It's the same with life. Sadly many of us don't understand we're in a more important race until the whole thing has gone hurtling past us. I began to find this was the case when my family started to grow. Perhaps I lost some of my compulsive drive with the birth of the first of my children, and it reduced more with the next two. But I think I gained more with my love for them than it cost me by reducing my drive for my career. I do believe there is a work / family balance, and if there is a choice to be made you are a fool if you don't choose the latter every time.

This is, I guess, a long winded way of saying I have a family day today, and therefore will not be posting a "proper" blog about a serious issue of the day, but perhaps I shouldn't be apologizing, because I just may have posted the most important blog of all.