This may be my longest stretch of not writing here. For the sake of breaking that streak, just some quickies. Give me a month to collect some thoughts and come back.
Town life
If I’ve changed over the last ten years, it’s not at the same pace or degree as my ‘village’ from what seems like ancient history. If you saw pics of Tzur Hadassah that I posted back when I moved here in 2008, you wouldn’t see it in real life today. You’d see a town doubled, a forest demolished, a lot of dust settling, and many many more families with young kids looking for packed kindergartens to get their kids into. Over a dozen ganim, four elementary schools, a middle school, a high school. A bike lane on the main road. New parks, even a pirate themed park. Two supermarkets. A burger joint, a pizza place, a gourmet pizza place, felafel and even… a New Deli. Yes, a New Deli.
Work life
I tend to keep quiet about my career and work; I feel I have too much responsibility to really offer some deeper insight. One day that may change. But on the topic of work/life balance, I can say this: It gets better… in so much that you get used to it. Career and parenting are both dosed in phases. There’s no changing that. It’s just how time and experience work together.
When it comes to career building in general, I’d add that you’re going to get what you give. I’ve started exploring ways I can give more, after noticing that I was doing it organically, without thinking about it. Here’s one of those channels.
Parenting life
I think I get it now. Two kids under 5 is the hardest parenting phase of young kids. We change after the third is born; that has been my theory for a while. The third ‘breaks’ you but not in a bad way. It breaks a lot of your cemented expectations, it shows you what you really value. The third is an exercise in forcing you to pick 3 out of 5 of your top values. The third makes you reconsider your assets – how much time you actually have, how much attention you can give to things that don’t live in your home with you. I’ve seen this in myself and I’ve seen it in friends.
Whadya got: