Weekend Engagement - Family Over Work, Always

I have a job that takes me away from home a lot. Would you do a job that takes you away from home and from your family for 300 days a year? Explain.

Hmm I did ponder about this question recently. There was definitely some deliberation but my final answer would very likely be a "No".

So what prompted this thinking was not too long ago, I had a colleague who was selected to go overseas for an attachment for a few months. In my area of work, overseas work opportunities are very rare, and they usually select people whom they think have the potential to rise up the ranks and play a bigger role in the organisation in the future. I mean, I wasn't selected in this case, and was perfectly okay with it, out of randomness, I did a little brain exercise and asked myself if hypothetically I was selected, would I be willing to go in the first place? This line of thought was slightly different from the initial reactions of the colleagues, who were probably thinking why they weren't chosen.

And in that little brain exercise, I thought about my elderly parents, my friends, my current lifestyle, etc. Perhaps if I was younger, say in my 20s, I would definitely love to have a chance to travel to work or am totally fine to be away from my family for 300 days a work. In my 20s, I think such opportunities provide me valuable life experiences, perhaps even career exposure or progression, and more importantly, allow me to grow as a person. In a way, you could say I was more "self-centered".

However, currently I am in my late 30s, I think I have different outlook in life. I value peace and stability a lot, and I don't want to over-stress or overwork myself because health is important as well. I have my own hobbies, and I am not sure if travelling and working overseas would affect my pursuit of my personal interests.

While all these factors are not dealbreakers and can be worked around, I think the final and most major factor would be my elderly parents. Over the years, I have seen them grow older each day, and the little depressing thought in my mind tells me that I am not sure how much time I have to spend with them as the clock ticks away. So I definitely want to spend as much time as I possibly can with them, be it just over a meal or a coffee, or even doctor visits. And hence travelling 300 days a year for work is definitely a no for me. Regardless of career or monetary benefits, I don't think I want to trade these things with time spent with my parents.

So putting everything together, the summarised version would be - no because I want to be around with my parents as they are getting older.

Of course, there is no right or wrong answer to this. We decide what's best for us as we try to live our lives to the fullest. Ending off with another matcha latte photo (lol) which I just had this afternoon - this was actually complimentary! Nothing comes "free" of course, it's a new cafe and they had somewhat of a promotion, with the first 1000 drinks being free, and the only requirement they had was to write a Google review. Haha.