Perhaps the most common question I get when people ask me about my busy life is whether my family ever sees me. I understand the question, because I travel a lot, and I do a lot of events, and I’m always blogging, and making media, and writing, and doing things. I get why it would seem my family life must be a really thin bit of my world. Here are some things I want to tell you about my family life.
Some Thoughts About My Family
- I take my daughter to the bus stop every day I’m home.
- She and I played all weekend last weekend, at a country fair, and then in the forest.
- I take her on special dates all the time.
- My son and I play a lot. Not as much as my daughter, but we have a few games he only plays with me.
- My wife and I could use a few more private dates, but we spend evenings together when I’m home, and love to hang out.
- When I’m away, my family and I communicate through rich media like videoblogs, audio posts, phone calls, emails, and more.
My Family Online
- My wife, Katrina, is VERY different from me with her net presence. She doesn’t like to be very “out there” on the web.
- She uses Facebook but almost never accepts friend requests from folks who aren’t her real friends. When I see her use Facebook, I feel envious that she actually knows EVERYONE closely in her Facebook. But we use it differently.
- My daughter knows how to check my frequent flyer miles on JetBlue. When I get 22 more points, she and I have a date in Manhattan.
- My son? Well, I love him. : )
Some More On My Life
Before I started working in events and social media, I used to work a day job, and spend about 60 extra hours a week trying to find a way into this space. I often times worked until 3AM on podcasts, and howto stuff, and blogging. My family knew I was home, but they rarely felt I was paying any attention. I wasn’t.
And now?
I’m VERY connected to my family when I’m home. If you try calling my house after I get home, I almost never answer. Not even my boss. I get online a little later in the night, after the little people go to bed, and only if my wife and I don’t have any plans to hang out or watch a movie or what not.
I love having dinner at home. I love giving my son a good round of the smooshing game, where I throw myself down on top of him so that he feels crushed for a while (don’t ask; he’s a strange kid). I do all kinds of games with my daughter, including drawing pictures together, and we tell lots of stories about our days. She’s 5, and 5 is a big year.
Why Tell You All This
One part is defensive. I’m always twitchy when people ask me about my family life, because they rarely say it any other way except that my family must suffer for all that I’m doing. (Part of me knows Kat’s going to comment to this effect in the comments section).
The other part is to remind people eager to do something in social media and juggling a lot of things that a strong family base is still just as important as ever. Happy homes make good social media makers. You know that. I’m just reminding you by telling you a bit about my family.
And another reason? I’m happy with my family. Really happy. And that’s not always a given in life, but in my case, I’m doing okay right now with that part of my life.
(The rest? Well, that’s tricky.)