Back to Normal (Whatever that is…) November 7, 2006
Posted by TimTheFoolMan in Love, Workplace.trackback
Work has calmed down and now I suppose things in my life will return to normal. Now is as good a time as any to step back and look at the priorities in my life, and make sure that the hours I invest correspond to the things that I really believe are most important.
Gone are the nights staying up until 1:00am. Gone are the mornings of getting up bleary-eyed from not enough sleep. Gone are the long phone conversations into another time zone. Gone are the worries about meeting someone, making the right impression, and making sure that all the little details are “just right.” I won’t worry about setting the ringer on the phone so that it wakes me up, but not anyone else. Gone are the 4-5 hour drives across several states. Gone are the days of making sure that the phone is glued to my hip, just in case…
Yes, all these things are going to slip quietly into memories…
Why don’t I feel good about it?
A Fool and his Words are Soon Parted 
>>Why don’t I feel good about it?>>
For the same reason Mr. Incredible didn’t like living in the suburbs. You’ve felt (and been) well-nigh indispensable for the last several weeks. Now you’ve come down suddenly from the long adrenaline rush — a stretch that, although tiring, was also invigorating, giving you an ongoing sense of urgency and purpose. No wonder it’s hard to return to normalcy. If possible, taking some time off might help you regain your balance.
Mr. Incredible? That is such a hysterical mental image (my sons will find it truly funny)! In all seriousness, there is solid research to suggest that one reasons programmer-types don’t like to follow formal process is the rush of “hero syndrome,” when only Herculean effort will get the code written. They subconsciously fight all formal process and procedures (annoying the rest of the planet along the way), and set up a situation in which the ONLY path to success is by putting in ridiculous hours and outrageous energy.
Hmm…. 😀
– Tim
I find it interesting that one of the categories you put this post in is “love” when you make no mention of it in the entry. Yet you speak volumes about love in your regret of having make to make work your number-one priority over the last several weeks/months. Your pain at not being the husband and father you wanted to be during that time is clear. But I say cut yourself some slack, and, as Tiffany suggested, take some much-deserved time off to reconnect with your family. You have been in my prayers over the last several weeks and will be for the weeks to follow.