mikelally.net

Or at least one of them.

WSJ had an article awhile back: When Returning to Work is Harder Than It Seems. This is a solid read for those of us that have been out of work for a long time. The article quotes that the average layoff time is around 6.5 months.

I completely identify with this piece. I’ve been out of work since last December. That fact alone is almost impossible for me to understand. But in the meantime, we have made some very radical adjustments to our lives.

We took some very drastic financial measures. These steps are allowing us to survive this crisis. And hopefully, positions us for a much easier road in the future. At the same time, I’ve essentially become a stay at home dad.

I get my daughter on the bus and pick her up from her grandmothers house in the afternoon. (Pre-unemployment, she got on and off the bus from grandma’s. We consciously have tired to minimize the impact of all this on her life.) This gives me two hours with her in the morning. And another hour in the afternoon. We were together all summer long as well. Doing low-cost activities. No camp. No trips.

This has allowed an incredible opportunity for her and I to bond. At the same time, I have to be very aware that my wife, god bless her, is pulling much of the weight right now. And it is hard for her to see the bond strengthen between me and our daughter. And I get it.

I’ve also spent a LOT of time at the gym. I do 5 days of 30minute cardio. I do 2 days of 60minute yoga. And I try to get a 45 minute strength training session in there too. Consequently, I’ve lost a lot of weight, done some good things with my “numbers”. And continue to build muscle and lose fat. A lot.

What happens when I go back to work? I WANT to continue to spend time with my daughter. I WANT to continue to work out all the time. I love my yoga teacher. I love the full on mind/body benefits I get from it.