Ever since we’ve had kids, my usual laid back attitude has been replaced with increasing stress and anxiety. I feel like I manage it well enough, but at the same time I find myself becoming more and more of a hermit.
I need to get out more (run club once a week right now), and I always feel better when I do, but I also feel guilty for leaving the wife with the kids, or not spending time with them, by doing things for myself.
What do you to balance yourself and your family?
Our one-year-old daughter takes a little extra work as a former micropremie with a few things to work through yet, but she should be pretty much all clear in the next couple months.
I’m fortunate enough to work from home and have a fairly flexible schedule. My wife handles most of the daytime baby work, but I’m also the first to wake up in the morning and last to go to bed. Sometimes the wife will leave baby with me and take a nap for an hour.
I’m good with that, because about once a month or so I’ll get my own break. Typically this comes in the form of me going to a hot spring place a couple hours away from home. Between the scenic drive, soaking naked in a pool of warm water, sipping a drink, and often seeing a couple friends there, I have a chance to recharge and come home to a wife, daughter, and doggy who are all happy to see me.