Nobody Will Remember, Except Your Kids

A lot of people work late. Some do it because they love what they do, they’re passionate, and have an extreme work ethic. Some do it because they have to in order to do their job at its fullest potential and to maximize theirs or the companies success. When I was single and had shared custody with his mother, I loved working late. I loved my job at the time and there was something so satisfying being in that office late, it’s quiet, everyone else is at home, and I knew I was actually being productive and out working the other guy. I did however make sure to not do that on the days and nights that were my turn with my son. As I’ve gotten older, been in multiple industries from blue collar to white collar, and seen my fair share of people come and go, whether it be because of a job change or because of retirement, the one thing I learned after they were long gone is nobody remembered. Nobody remembered after it was all said and done, nobody cared. They only cared when it was happening in real-time and benefiting their job and bottom line. The only people who are going to remember you working late are going to be your kids. They’ll remember each day, each week, each month, and year that you stayed at work late and weren’t home for dinner, weren’t home to spend time with them before bed, or they’ll remember you just simply not being there. When they grow up into adults and start families of their own and they look back at the kind of parents you were and what kind of parents they want to be, they’ll still be the only ones who remember that you worked late. Now that I’ve found my person, she has kids, and I get my son more and more often, I make absolute sure that family me isn’t burning the midnight oil like single me did, while they wait at home or move on through life without me. The only time I work late at all these days is if it is absolutely necessary to my position to succeed, which I can proudly say isn’t that often. Nobody will remember, except your kids.