Sacrifice or Stupidity

Now that Neil is in his fourth week of his MBA program, it is getting easier. It's getting easier to spend Monday through Wednesday nights alone after Hayden is in bed. It's getting easier to tell Hayden that Daddy's at work and that he'll see Daddy tomorrow morning. It's getting easier to survive on Wheat Thins, leftovers, and pretzels for lunch and dinner.

It's getting easier to live this life of:

Alternating Grandparents watching Hayden on pre-designated evenings so I can get some work done.

Neil doing homework on every lunch break and the two hours between the end of his work day and the beginning of class.

Knowing we must keep this schedule up until May of 2005.

And when I get frustrated, I think of the Moms who work days and the Dads who work nights so their kids don't have to go to day care. We have it a lot better than those families, right? Is it judgmental of me to assume that these Moms and Dads don't have college degrees or high-paying jobs? Maybe it is. Maybe not. We do have college degrees. We do live comfortably. Why do we always want more? My secret fear is that in our relentless pursuit of the ideal life we want for Hayden and for each other, we are missing out on Hayden and each other.