Another sample of my writing...

Tags: +Art+; +Narcipost+

Well, just because this for some reason got a 97% from my english teacher (I'm not complaining, but I don't get it, I'm not THAT good of a writer), I had to post it. It's my second essay for that class.

No Time for Family Time

My dear reader will find no surprise when informed that we live in a dog-eat-dog world. As such, it makes sense that we pursue stability of what ever kind we can to the fullest extent we are able. Sadly, it seems to the author that financial stability is often regarded as more of a priority then family stability. Every day we hear about the hero “CEO Dads” who put in the 60 hour weeks to get product X out to market Y by time Z. Or the fabled “Career Moms” who supposedly manage to juggle the job of their dreams, the PTA meetings, CEO Dad, and of course, the kids. Now, any mathematician will tell you that as there are only 24 hours in a day, you can’t get 25 hours of work out of them. Something’s got to give. And all too often, it’s the kids.

Now, the author is not trying to berate the poor families who NEED 2 parents working overtime just to pay rent, food, and heat. It’s a shame that our society hasn’t adopted a decent living wage, but that’s fodder for another rant. Instead, the target is parents who either work for the sake of work, or can’t seem to do without cable TV, 6 cell phones, and “A GREAT long distance plan!” on their landline.

In the case of the former, let there first be a congratulations said. It’s a wonderful thing to find a job that both stimulates and reinvigorates. That said; a person shouldn’t start a family if said person is still in the building stages of their career. Or, if there are no plans to leave the building stages of the career question, one might consider never starting a family. Children are a full time job. No, scratch that. They’re a full time job with mandatory over-time. A person wouldn’t be expected to take on two 50 hour per week jobs. Why should this be any different?

As for the second category, there is also much to be said. First and foremost is: Don’t spend what’s not there. If Wally Wageslave makes $200 dollars a week, pays $500 each month in rent and utilities, and $300 a month on food, where is there room for cable? Or even dining out? Wouldn’t it make more sense if Wally dropped the extra $200 dollars a month he has in miscellaneous expenses, dropped the part time job he had to take care of it, and spent more time with his family, the very people that poor Wally likely started breaking his back for in the first place?

This soon-to-be family man has no delusions about how money changes hands. If a person wants something nice, they have to work for it. But if said person is going to settle down, and start a family with a husband & wife setup (2.6 kids are optional) they need to get their priorities straight. Many people don’t see that there’s a difference between building your life around your work, and building your work around your life. Or worse, many people deify the former, while demonizing the later.

All this doesn’t mean that a person can’t have a wonderful, meaningful job that they enjoy and look forward going to. In fact, if one CAN achieve this, it’s quite likely that it would only be good for the family in general. All that is being said is to remember why you’re even working in the first place: your family.