After weeks of traveling, we finally reunited as a family via United Airlines. I flew into Phoenix with a bunch of high-fever-running-coughing family members. The flight was long, but seeing N’s face at the airport made it worth it. After being away for a hot minute, I looked forward to quality family time. Nothing could have hit me for what was about to come next.
All major companies implemented RTO policy, and N’s employer followed suit. I work from home, so the concept of working onsite was lost on me. N received us at the airport late at night on Monday. He left for work at 6:30 AM on Tuesday and returned 12 hours later. The pattern repeated all week. We grouped as a family only for a few hours before bedtime every day. We only had a few hours to pack a day’s love and stories. We deserve more family time than this!
I started wondering what our future would look like. N and I would commute to work, drop the baby at school, struggle to cook, clean, and spend quality time together from 6 PM to 9 PM every day. Working onsite for all 5 days of the week feels like an alien concept, especially since Covid. It’s not so alien anymore.
On second thoughts, that is how we grew up. Our parents would commute to work, and we spent 3 hours together as a family in the evenings. Weekends and festivals were unique and treasured. That is how our lives will be, too. We will treasure weekends and long weekends, and we will find excuses to rush home early every evening. Our hearts will need time to accept the concept, but we will make it work.
Now, I think of ways to utilize the 3 hours to the fullest. I search for ways to play, read, run, eat, chill, laugh, connect, and make memories. Time flies, but it is up to you to catch the moments. Such is life, dearies.
Of Sun and Sand 