I have quite a few thoughts rolling around in my head today. First, I apologize for missing yesterday's Theater Thursday post and I likely won't be posting my Gaming Geekery post today. Although I have plenty to say on both topics the recent blizzard here in Chicago has really mixed things up for me.
The thought I'd like to discuss is this: I don't live to work. Quite the opposite, really. I enjoy what I do to make money, to an extent, but I do not enjoy it so much that it comes before any and all other concerns.
I realize I have a job that requires some responsibility and that I need to fulfill my obligations. I am fully aware of this. But I fundamentally disagree with some people about what, exactly, that means.
For those not aware, my husband was trapped in his car on Lake Shore Drive here in Chicago for over 12 hours Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning. This was while a Blizzard was raging through the area. Two feet of snow dropped in that time, freezing temperatures permeated the air, and wind gusts up to 70 mph roared off of the lake. And the only thing protecting him was his car, which was on a bridge right next to the lake.
To say that I was utterly terrified is an extreme understatement. My husband was trapped, the city wasn't helping him and there was nothing I could do to fix it. I was on the phone with him most of the evening and kept him up-to-date with any information I could find on the news or online.
I say all this to say that when he was finally able to get home at 6:30 am on Wednesday morning after being rescued from his car then trudging through the streets to get back to our house, all I wanted to do was spend time with him and cuddle him and make him warm and to make sure he was really, truly there with me. That he wasn't an apparition.
But there were others that did not see the importance of this. There were those that expected that I and everyone else who had been through any sort of terrifying incident the previous evening be up and ready to work in the morning. Which, to put it as easily as possible, is utter bull shit.
My life and my family and my friends are vastly more important to me than the rudimentary tasks of my position. Furthermore, there is nothing that need be accomplished RIGHT NOW that could not have waited until a more appropriate time, when all the personal affairs had been settled and life was able to resume at a mostly normal pace.
But like I said, there are those that fundamentally disagreed with me.
This is a bit of a rant, and perhaps a bit too personal to post out for the world to see, but I feel that it is important to note that I will never sacrifice personal obligations to fulfill work obligations. Work is designed to earn me the ability to enjoy a personal life, my personal life is not designed so I can line someone else's coffers.
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