The availability to your kids with remote work can be a parenting game changer.
Over a year ago, we had some major headwinds hit our family.
One of my children received a medical diagnosis that will alter the rest of his life. These challenges seemed insurmountable at the time.
I remember driving to work, day after day wanting just a little more time with him.
Just a little more time to see him off in the morning.
A little time when he gets home from school to help him process out his day.
A little more time to be sure he was going to be ok.
Those were hard days.
And what about my daughter?
I would love to give her a hug in the morning. Coach her on how to talk back to that bully in her class. Give her a high five before she heads off to school.
Like bricks in a wall, these tiny building blocks of time add up over a childhood to fortify their sense of self and identity.
The Search For Remote Work
Those were the days I started looking at remote work.
How else was I going to ever be available to them at those times?
How in the world could I do that?
My search was long, and largely unfruitful.
I reached out to every contact I knew to look for positions in my field that would allow me to work remotely. I sent cold emails. I knocked on many doors so to speak. Many went unanswered. A few wished they could hire me but had no openings. I felt defeated.
So, I waited.
And waited.
Finally, an opening emerged in my field. And they desperately needed my help.
The door was opening.
After a long process, I finally walked through.
The New Role Of Being A Remote Worker
Getting used to working remotely hasn’t been easy. There is much to learn from setting up a morning routine to combatting loneliness.
It hasn’t been easy, but it has been fruitful.
In fact, this blog was born out of those lessons learned, and still needing to be learned.
I now am the one to get my son up in time to catch the bus at 7 AM.
We had breakfast together today (the first time on a weekday we could do this in his entire life). I encouraged him about his day. I walked him to the bus stop.
And then I walked home.
Into work.
Once my day had started, I heard a knock on my office door. My daughter lumbered in with sleep in her eyes and wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. She leapt onto my lap and I was able to ask her about her night, and what she is looking forward to at school that day.
After a big squeeze she ran off to start her morning.
And I turned around and went to work.
Brick by brick. Minute by minute. I have been able to be a presence in my kids life like never before thanks to working remotely.
And on days when I am second guessing my job choice, I think of them and I think of moments like this morning and the structures I hope we are building in their lives.