Three day weekends are always nice.  Who doesn’t like a little extended time off, and a little extra time with their family.  Unfortunately, I usually find myself extremely tired anytime we get a short break from school.  I would love to spend that extra day doing something fun with my family, but I usually find myself resting and looking for a little extra sleep.

Like most of us, I struggle in finding a good work-life balance.  It takes a great deal of time to be a principal and it takes just as much time to be a husband and a father to four kids.  I strive to find a balance of both worlds.  Nonetheless, I feel often times- work wins, and I do not get the quality time with my family that I would like.

Giving time to both aspects of life is hard.  It seems  like there is not enough time to dedicate equally to each side.  So, where do I find balance?  I think the challenge is…there is no balance.  There is just no way to balance time between both work and life well all the time.  Some weeks, school life just takes an exorbitant amount of time.  I have to be at certain events, I have deadlines, and I have to invest in people and other tasks in certain ways to do the job well.  There is just not anyway around it, some weeks require in the realm of 80 hours and that naturally, in turn, leaves little time at home.

Believe me, the last thing I want is for my teachers to say, “He was not a good principal, but he was a great dad.” And the reverse is also true, I am horrified to fathom that someday my own kids might think: “He was a great principal, but a horrible dad.”

Both scare me.  All I can try to do is invest fully in each and every moment.  If I am at work, I try to mentally, emotionally, and physically give everything I have to my job during that time.  Then, when I get home, I try to do the same.  To be completely honest, I am better at investing in the school part rather than the home part of my life.  It is a struggle to do both well, but it is a struggle worth fighting.  I want to be there and give my all in every aspect of my life.

To make a point to myself this week, I am stopping my post here.  I am not going to delve into more depth like I normally do.  I am going to close the computer and go spend some time with my kids!

If I had to give one piece of advice to end this post: Stop trying to find a balance.  It is not about balance, it is about investing fully in each and every moment we have on this earth.