No one has the perfect life we see on television or in the movies. It appears that on TV or in the movies no one really has a 9-5 job, they just come and go as they please. That would be the life! However, as reality sets in to the daily grind we call life I have come to realize there is no PERFECT schedule when it comes to work and making a living for ones' family.

     Lets start simple with the stay at home mom/dad.  Yeah yeah some of you are ready to stop reading this but please hear me out. I know stay at home mom's or dad's  don't usually get a spot on the top 20 best jobs in the nation, but let me tell you there is a place for these moms and dad's, and it is in the heart's of their children and home! When does their job even start or end? Does getting up at 2 am count as the start of the day or should we reset the timer when the stay at home mom or dad gets up at 3 am? Does it end at midnight when they finally close their eyes to try to go to sleep or after they get up 2 more times to check the kids and wipe the table down one last time? However, the many perks of this job are never-ending! They get to stay home all day and be there for all of the firsts, the silly times, the sick times, the accomplishments, all of it! They get to shape their children into who they want them to be! Even at the wee hours of the morning as exhausted as they are they get to snuggle that precious life they created together and savor the moments! They get to see personalities form and differ from child to child on a daily basis and be there when they need them most! They are always there laying next to them at night and more times than not probably sleeping next to them as well and that is a blessing many overlook! 

     Then there is the farmer schedule that looks pretty enticing but when the reality check happens it isn't all it is "cracked"up to be. There are a lot of cracks in the dirt and farmers certainly see the crack of dawn and dusk many days of the year, however not a day goes by that they aren't worried the crop won't produce or praying a hailstorm doesn't come and take it all away. The livelihood they work so hard for every day til whatever hour is necessary is a constant worry to them. However, there are many "perks" to this job that doesn't leave much room for complaining. Not many jobs let you take your kids with you from sunrise to sunset or even your spouse for that matter. Sure the nights are long, but then it rains and they get 3 days "off" to spend time with their families. Or equipment breaks down which means more time off waiting for tractor or combine to get fixed. Not to mention not much is really done after dark. Meaning most nights supper may be an hour or so later but usually families still get to eat together and help with the nightly routine.  At the end of the day the farmer gets to snuggle into his/her own bed! 

     Or one more example is the 8-5 bank President. This seems as though it would be the easiest job even a monkey could do it! Not so fast a monkey would look pretty silly in a suit, and don't get me started on how you will get him to wear a tie! Back to my example of the bank president, sure he sees his kids off to school and is usually home in time for supper but being a bank president is pretty stressful to say the least and there are always meetings after hours or days when they need you at the office earlier than usual. This job I like to call the convenient job! The hours are simply convenient with everything else throughout our day. People in this job can kiss their wife goodbye in the morning, and take their kids to school. They can sometimes even volunteer at school over their lunch break. Also, they are usually home in time to either make supper or at least eat together as a family.  Once again the Bank President gets to snuggle into his/her bed every night! 

     These are simply examples of jobs among the many many different career paths we can chose in our lives. All in all no matter who brings home the bacon or as my daughter would say, "Bacon? Where? Is it crispy? I want some," we are all trying to do the best for our families. We are trying to be a good dad, mother, husband, and wife while still trying to make ends meet in this crazy world. However, sometimes we get discouraged and wonder what we are even working for, if any of it really matters and when the day will come that we will have a little "extra" money to go around and maybe just maybe not have to work so hard! 

     Let me tell everyone that it does MATTER! All you do for your wife, husband, and children matters more than you will ever know! I want to focus on one last career choice or let's call it, "Doing what is best for my family no matter the consequences to myself." These are the men or even women who travel constantly for their jobs and/or careers. Maybe they truly love the travel, and maybe it works out that the whole family loves to travel. It could be a dream job all around. Or maybe on the other side the work is the passion, but the travel is the consequence of that work, and it just never works to travel as a whole family. Or maybe they are out there protecting all of us so we can sleep easier at night! The hours are long and nights are short so it doesn't leave a whole lot of time to do anything other than work. Plus the job is dangerous, and dirty, not to mention the crime rate isn't the greatest most the time depending on the location of the job,  and therefore not a very welcoming place for the whole family. I will be honest I do have a career that fits this description to a tee but you can probably think of a few on your own so I will leave that up to your imagination, because none of them are any less or better than the rest.  I want to commend those who work these types of jobs because they do it solely to provide their family a better life.  It isn't for the "alone time". Or even the glamorous or less than glamorous hotels they stay in. It also certainly isn't for the cans of soups or TV dinners they usually eat on the road for whatever reasons. Danger,  crime, and hazardous materials isn't exactly how I imagine spending a good day! There is no coming home after a long day and getting to tuck your kids into bed and cuddle with your lovely spouse. There are many sleepless nights because of this and many tears shed as well. Tears not only of loneliness, but also worry that the traveling spouse stays safe until you get to see them again. 

     These men. and women put their blood, sweat and tears ( I mean this very literally) into their job each and every day. With a world so callous about divorce that leaves many single parent families and a lot of pain and heartache, it is a wonder to many why anyone would take on a traveling job.  In a lot of ways a family with a traveling parent mimics a family of divorce. Children rarely get to see their father and/or mother. The traveling parent feels guilty for being away and for missed opportunities to spoil their children and spouse. Therefore, they may bring home small gifts for their kids as a token of their affection for them, similar to divorced parents trying to "out do" one another. There may be a lot of resentment towards spouses and even the entire family unit at times. The one who stays home with the kids day in and day out may just "need a break "and the one who just returns home from traveling may also just "need a break" and not a "honey-do" list to complete over the weekend.  However,just because a family member travels doesn't mean they don't carry love with them everywhere they go. They miss their spouses, their children and even their extended families.  They could give up at any time and just assume they no longer have a place in their family simply because they travel all the time. Their spouse has gotten into a routine that works well while the other spouse is gone and it only seems to "mess things up" when adding the traveling spouse back into the picture. After awhile they don't even know where things are in their own house, or what sport their kids are playing at the moment.   It is a true test on a marriage and family unit that only the strong will survive! Extended families even put pressure on the traveling family because they don't understand why they wouldn't want to just find a different job so they could be home more.  Or they basically just think that since it is a decision the family made, to travel for work; then they are on our their own and they won't be helping out with anything! How, horrible this is for the lonely, anxiety filled , stressed out, depressed, spouse at home. Surrounded by family and friends that simply don't care  yet complain about their own spouse being gone for 1 night!!! Or when the traveling spouse does come home they want to steal every bit of time he/she has to spend with their immediate family, by planning get together's or outings.  These things hinder the relationship of all family members but it just means everyone has to try harder when they are together. In other words the for better or worse really comes into play and tries to pull you apart.  Being part of a traveling family unit may possibly leave some scars, however it doesn't leave the gaping hole that divorce does!  The pain and suffering involved from a divorce never really goes away. It is much like a death always there in the back of your mind. You always wonder about how the divorce affected or still affects your grown children and if they would have had a better life if only things were different. This should answer the question to why these men and women do what they do. They have been there, they have seen what divorce does  whether from within their own families or in society as a whole. They have chose for divorce to never be an option no matter how hard things may get!  

     That brings me back to those men and women who chose or at least make the decision that no matter what they are going to try to do everything they can to make ends meet for their family. It is only by the Grace of God, whom graciously gives them the love and compassion needed to be strong for their families. This in turn stems from their marriage vows where the path began to be visible. The strive to keep going even when the going gets tough, for better or worse.....forever. Yes, it's true for a time their wife or husband plays the role of single parent sometimes more often than not. However, they are still a team in all the ways it matters. They plan vacations together, fun weekends away with the kids, they discipline together, ( even if over the phone sometimes) and they most of all love each other through it all.  There are times they have to travel for days, weeks, months at a time and keep doing the same job for many years in hope for one day having a better life.  By that I mean being able to surprise your wife every so often with a small weekend away, or buy the kids a  new hot crave toy they have wanted. Not in any effort to keep up with the Jones' but in an effort to show love  to their kids and wife. To let them know that this hard work isn't all for nothing and slowly but surely there will come a day that they will leave this hard work behind and maybe take that new bank president job, or buy that first piece of land to farm and settle down to a much easier occupation; if only there was one!

     I have heard people say no matter what, even if the job paid a million dollars a year would they travel for a living or for that matter, let their spouse travel.   The thing is like anything you don't know until you are put in that predicament. Also, it does wonders to have empathy and put yourself in the shoes of others and truly understand the why of what they do and who they do it for! Sometimes we don't even need reasons behind things if we simply ask our hearts what we would want done for us if ever faced with similar circumstances and then simply just DO SOMETHING!  Any path we chose is the path we are meant to be on for some reason or another. I know those who travel a lot will miss some important events but they are there for the ones that matter if at all possible. They are there for the birth of their babies. They are there for the Thanksgivings and Christmases. They are there when someone is ill and in the hospital. They may not catch all of the milestones in person but they are there receiving a video of it in real time! They always find a way to be there when it really matters and that is all that matters in the grand scheme of things. We have to remember that God always has a grander plan than our own and even though it looks as though we may have had control over certain decisions in life we never really have he has always had the control the whole time. We just have to follow the path he lays out for us no matter how many unforeseen curves lie ahead. We do it all for HIS greater glory for the blessings he bestows on us in this life and the next!