Back to Reality

I struggled to figure out what I wanted to talk about today. It didn’t help that I just got back from vacation and it seemed like I wanted to do anything, but work! My mind was still set on vacation mode and all I could think about was the next one! I know patience is a virtue, but that little taste of fun in the sun and relaxation showed me just how rewarding it was to enjoy the fruits of my labor. Well, to be quite honest, a big part of my vacation was funded by the stimulus check I received, but nonetheless, I still worked hard to put in the hours just to take off and have spending money. This morning I literally racked my brain to figure out what I wanted to talk about and I guess it’s only fitting to talk about “back to reality.” Being that I just came back from vacation and all, reality has definitely sunk in!

It took everything in me to pull myself out of bed and log in to work! I hate that feeling of not wanting to be productive because Lord knows I definitely needed a little push today! The reality of being back to my normal everyday life made me think about “work hard, play hard.” I use to struggle to understand that concept. I would always see or hear about people clocking in all of these hours for a job that they more than likely despised, but for what? I always wondered why people worked themselves half to death for a job that could care less about their well-being. It wasn’t until I had a family of my own that I better understood this logic. I soon realized that showing up for work every day, putting in the necessary hours, sometimes sacrificing extra hours a week would open the door of opportunity for me to earn enough money to do the things that I enjoyed doing with my family. I could take them to the movies, out to eat, on vacations or simply have extra money at my disposal for whatever.

I used to sit and dream of taking my family on vacations, but wasn’t willing to put forth the extra hours to earn that privilege. I would see all of my friends going on trips with their families and wonder how they made it all possible. Those long hours they worked and sacrifices made it worth their while. They knew they had an ultimate goal and that was to enjoy the fruits of their labor! Work hard, play hard! It felt good to be able to take off and go to Florida with my family. Disney World, Legoland and other places we got to visit made me realize that this is why I work hard, not just to provide for my family, but also to share special moments like those! It was definitely a reality check coming back to work today, but I will say it made me appreciate my job and the fact that I was able to have the funds to enjoy my vacation with my family. The reality is that in order to do all of those fun things I have to work! Life is not always going to be vacations and fun trips, but it won’t always be working endless hours for the rest of my life either! Working hard to earn the time and money to spend time with my family was definitely worth it and as far as I’m concerned once you get a taste of the fruits of your labor, working hard will never feel the same!