Career or Family?

I am stuck in my bed today. I’m not feeling good and missed my training schedule for a home-based job. If I am in my 20’s I will still drag myself out of the house to hustle despite not feeling well but it’s different now I’m in the ’30s...I’m more conscious to take a rest when it’s needed. I remember one of my colleagues told me when I still got to work even I have a burning fever that the company can easily look for a replacement of me but I can’t replace my body if my health deteriorates because of overwork. It made an impact on me Yes; health is wealth…so today... I declare it’s my rest day! No to-do lists, just do what I enjoy movies and writing.

I'd like to share what happened yesterday. I’ve met a friend since we were in high school back in my hometown. She’s always getting in touch every time she visits Cebu attending work seminars. We had almost 5 hours of catching up. She is a successful auditor in one of the government agency. There was a time when she’s almost at the peak of her career and up for promotion, she was overwhelmed with the pile of works. This leads to difficulty giving time to her son and family. Her husband is an overseas worker and her son is being taken care of her mother from their hometown. When she gets back from her town, she sleeps most of the time to recharge then back to Manila again ready to earn plaques in the corporate world. That was her routine spending lesser time to her son and more time to work until he reaches 3 years old. This when tragedy strikes, her scar still not completely healed, bitterness showed on her face sharing her story.

It was Saturday as usual, she comes home from their town, her son is having a fever, it's normal though for a child to have this kind of sickness so she did not take it seriously. Sunday came, the temperature is still unstable but her son is playing, happily running around the house with his playmates. It’s time for her to go back to Manila, she told her mother to consult a doctor that day before she left. Within 48 hours, she received a phone call, her son is gone.

She found out from the doctor, there is already internal bleeding on the child’s body. It was severe dengue, I forgot the exact name but the platelet count dropped so low and he did not survive. I did not ask any further because I know how painful it is.

I find it awkward always talking death in my wall but it’s a certainty of life. I need to face it. Going back to the story, she applied to the regional office near in their hometown instead of Manila, she did not take the promotion and switch career. It’s a bold step for her but she told me...

what is a career without a family?

Her husband did not go back to abroad, settled also in their hometown and they are trying to work out having a baby again.

end of the story

Practically, I wanted to go back to work again. It’s difficult not to have a stable income on my own but when I recall the reason why I resigned then I will still choose to wear my slipper at home than my office shoes in the closet.
I am working home-based; I don’t want also to be idle. I need to contribute my share when it comes to finances though it may not have the same reward as my job before, I find peace where I am at now. I don’t find this kind of peace in the cubicle.

We all have different preferences, it’s not wrong to aim high, to be at par with our career but I hope we find time to bond with our family, not to always give all of our energy, focus, and love to our work to a point we forget some areas in our lives that matter the most. We do not need to choose career over family, it’s a fact without our job we cannot give financial help to our families. It’s all about letting them get into our schedule, sometimes even an hour of chitchats is enough.