megdanielle

I have discovered a new rule for maintaining a successful marriage while working opposite schedules:

Work for an awesome company.

Today, I went into work excited for one day off in the middle of the week. Happy Independence Day, America! This morning, my boss tells me to take off some time to spend with Freddy. “There’s more to life,” he says.

Now, to understand the importance of this and the following, I need to explain a little bit more about myself: I am one of those people who feels consumed by guilt for taking time off on short notice without some extravagant travel plan or wedding or event, etc. Call me a workaholic if you want, but I do. I get this awful feeling that I’m letting the team down or loafing, not pulling my weight, making it harder on other people. You name it, I feel it!

My boss must know this about me because he insisted. And he reminded me that I have a computer and my phone if I need to check in and that our team is cross-trained and capable. It does not fall apart if one person is gone. I still felt a little unsure but when I came back to my desk, my coworker told me the same thing and assured me that it would be fine to take some time off. He confirmed, “You are taking it off, right?”

They prodded me so much that I finally caved and submitted my time-request. Big surprise: It was approved!

Now, I am sitting here thinking up all of the fun things Freddy and I are going to do on our 5-WHOLE-DAYS OFF!

We’re kicking it off with Tuesday night house tours with our Realtor. We’ll probably stop on the way home for a drink to recap the houses. We’re going to meet up with some of Freddy’s friends for the 4th and I’m working up my courage to ask him about golfing (I know he would be oh-so-excited if I went with him!). We could go kayaking and BBQ and have FRIEND TIME as a COUPLE! Oh-my-word, so many things to do!

It’s amazing how quickly those feelings of guilt can slip away when it sinks in that you’re finally getting some real, unscheduled, not between chores, free-time with your spouse.

I am so grateful to work for such a great company and so excited to spend some QT with Freddy – My heart is singing!