Just a clarification. For several years I did work in the office and had a routine job (though newspaper hours at that time fluctuated. Later, when I was a beat writer for different sports, I traveled quite a bit....fun at first, but when I'd have to spend a week at golf tournaments (Masters, U.S. Open, etc.), I'd miss being home. Family always came first to me...the job was a way to pay the bills. I never really wanted to be a beat writer -- I saw it as me writing and "living" was someone or some team was doing. I wanted my life. Actually, if I were to start over with a newspaper, I believe I would have enjoyed being a political writer. I had been interested ever since my dad and I would watch the news on our small black-and-white TV when he came home to eat in the afternoons from his city editor's job in Wichita Falls. He worked nights. My most fun job was a sports editor at the Denton Record-Chronicle. We had a talented staff and I designed the pages (went to work early in the mornings), covered North Texas and Decatur high school football and meted out football assignments to my one assistant and other staffers (everyone covered football). I'd usually finished by at least noon and either head home or to the golf course. I did identify with my job then and enjoyed the perks and recognition I had there and at the Star-Telegram. But I turned down two jobs and a promotion to another beat because they would have taken away from my family time. As a result, I got to see my kids grow, play sports and interact. Yet, even before I was able to spend more time at home and not go into the office as much because of my job changes, I still felt I missed too much of being around my family. And that is why grandkids get so spoiled because Leslie and I were fortunate enough to live close to them and spend an awesome amount of time with them because we were retired (for most of the time) When I walked away from the Star-Telegram when I was 62, I never looked back. After a few days, I wondered how I ever had time to work, though I did by starting two websites (junior golf and running) that took too much time before I gave them up, too. But at least I usually could do those on my own time. Well, this was supposed to be a short comment, but it got out of hand. I could have just said, family always came first, and still does.
This essay really resonated with me because I lived a self-imposed migratory life in my twenties marked by jobs and apartments that often lasted less than a year. I was looking for something I could not find, and elsewhere always seemed better than here. I thought of it as my "the grass is always greener on the other side" syndrome. I finally grew out of it. Restlessness is pretty on target. Thank you for sharing.
Just a clarification. For several years I did work in the office and had a routine job (though newspaper hours at that time fluctuated. Later, when I was a beat writer for different sports, I traveled quite a bit....fun at first, but when I'd have to spend a week at golf tournaments (Masters, U.S. Open, etc.), I'd miss being home. Family always came first to me...the job was a way to pay the bills. I never really wanted to be a beat writer -- I saw it as me writing and "living" was someone or some team was doing. I wanted my life. Actually, if I were to start over with a newspaper, I believe I would have enjoyed being a political writer. I had been interested ever since my dad and I would watch the news on our small black-and-white TV when he came home to eat in the afternoons from his city editor's job in Wichita Falls. He worked nights. My most fun job was a sports editor at the Denton Record-Chronicle. We had a talented staff and I designed the pages (went to work early in the mornings), covered North Texas and Decatur high school football and meted out football assignments to my one assistant and other staffers (everyone covered football). I'd usually finished by at least noon and either head home or to the golf course. I did identify with my job then and enjoyed the perks and recognition I had there and at the Star-Telegram. But I turned down two jobs and a promotion to another beat because they would have taken away from my family time. As a result, I got to see my kids grow, play sports and interact. Yet, even before I was able to spend more time at home and not go into the office as much because of my job changes, I still felt I missed too much of being around my family. And that is why grandkids get so spoiled because Leslie and I were fortunate enough to live close to them and spend an awesome amount of time with them because we were retired (for most of the time) When I walked away from the Star-Telegram when I was 62, I never looked back. After a few days, I wondered how I ever had time to work, though I did by starting two websites (junior golf and running) that took too much time before I gave them up, too. But at least I usually could do those on my own time. Well, this was supposed to be a short comment, but it got out of hand. I could have just said, family always came first, and still does.
This essay really resonated with me because I lived a self-imposed migratory life in my twenties marked by jobs and apartments that often lasted less than a year. I was looking for something I could not find, and elsewhere always seemed better than here. I thought of it as my "the grass is always greener on the other side" syndrome. I finally grew out of it. Restlessness is pretty on target. Thank you for sharing.