Tuesday, January 13, 2009

A Major Dilemma

Yesterday was my day off, during which I had tons of errands to run, projects to work on, scheduled appointments to keep, and events to attend. I completed only a small portion of what I needed to do, but I am happy with what I accomplished. I had hoped to do more today, but crew scheduling called at 6:28AM to have me fly the couch at DIA from 8:30AM until Noon. I made it with 3 MINUTES TO SPARE. We won't talk about how fast I was driving, or how many "near-misses" I had...now on to my dilemma.

My dilemma is: Am I doing a disservice to my family by working this job? Last night I got cornered by a couple people from Church, and was told how unhappy my husband is. ("He looks so sad in the grocery store...) However, he assures me that he's okay with what I'm doing, that he's never stood in my way, etc. He would like my schedule to be a bit less unpredictable, but then so would I! I have devoted my life for over 20 years to my husband, his career, my daughter, her schools and my Church. Is it so wrong to be so happy having this job, and doing something for me?

I am bringing in a bit of money, I'm getting health insurance for our family at 1/3rd the cost of what we used to pay, we're getting free travel to VA, NY and IL to visit family, and in return, I am still on reserve after 15 months. I know things will be much better when I gain some additional seniority on the Reserve list...or when I get to hold a line! Life will be GOOD!

So...seeing as how I haven't been hammered enough by everyone else's opinions, go ahead and leave me yours, or just participate in the online poll...my life hasn't been my own for so long, I might as well see what the world wants me to do!

1 comment:

Kelly said...

Um - just to be blunt, Susan:

If you've asked Greg for his honest opinion about this new career of yours, you have a right to expect that his answer is honest as well, which is, "I'm fine. I wish you were home more, but I'm fine."

The perceptions of well-meaning friends of what Greg "looks like in the grocery store" sound like just that: PERCEPTIONS. You can't worry about their perceptions. You can only go by Greg's answer to your honest question, and if he's not honest in return, well...that's his issue, not yours.

And yes, it's hard to weigh the pros and cons of this job. It's a dilemma I think we all have right now. Hanna and I were looking at some digital pix from training and I was sadly pointing out all the folks from our class who decided the cons of this job were bigger than the pros.

Call me and we'll talk.