My wife and I are watching our 8-month old niece Kaila for the weekend so her parents can get some much-needed time together. Apparently her wake-up time is 5am sharp every day, which is fine considering thats when I like to get up anyways. The issue is thats when I like to get up so I can get a short surf before I have to be at work. My wife is not a morning person, and she works to hard for me to make her stay up with the baby while I bail to go surfing. We had a nice morning, took the dogs for a walk with Kaila and she went back to sleep at 8, right when I leave to go to work.
We're expecting our baby in October (stoked!) and this is good practice. Here's my quandry: Currently I can get in the water 1-2 days a week before work, when I have to leave to be at work before my lovely wife gets up anyways, no time together missed. When we have the baby, she'll be staying home, but will still be plenty tired if she has to get up super early every morning and then have to watch the baby all day as well. I have three options if I want to get in the water when our baby comes along. I won't compromise my limited family time to surf no matter how much surfing means to me, so I have to explore other ways to get my surf on. Here are my options.
1. I'll have a nice sit-down with the Munchkin (our baby's name until we find out if we're having a Levi or a Serena) and we'll work out a nice compromised schedule where he/she can agree to wake up no later than 4am and be back to sleep by 5. Or wake up no earlier than 8am.
2. I start my own business (in the works) and do well enough that I can make my own schedule and surf whenever I want during the day. (My current job is sales so I have to be in the office all day, thus lunchtime surf breaks and leaving early to catch an evening session are not options for me.)
3. Win the lottery, buy a house on the beach and do whatever the heck we want, whenever we want.
These are the 3 options I've come up with so far. Any other ideas from you more experienced wave-riding dads?
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Sign of Things to Come
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4 comments:
This is tough. First, congratulations. Having a child is really a fun trip. My son has woken at or before 6 like clockwork. When my son was born I had to wean myself off of surfing almost each day before or after work and the weekends. Now I surf the weekends- leaving home as soon as my wife awakes to watch the grom. I also periodically surf right after work for an hour or so, but my day ends at 245 so that is an option that you may or may not have. I also team up with other surfing dads during the warmer months. We'll each bring our family and then take turns surfing and watching the kids. You'll find time to surf.Remember, it won't be long before your kid will be surfing right next to you!
Thanks for the words of wisdom. I imagine I'll learn to adjust. After hanging out at the beach with my wife yesterday I'm really looking forward to being there with a whole family!
My dad started Destination Surf as his own business for just this same motivation. Now look at it. It's going strong. We had lots of surf sessions with pops and camping trips to baja. He was at all our surf contests, wrestling meets, waterpolo games, my sister's dance recitals and cheerleading competitions. It's the toughest thing you'll ever do. You'll work 15 hour days, but your family can be beside you even at work(we were at DSurf everyday after school). You won't make near as much money as people think you do. But what is worth more, some paper with dead guys pictures on it or time with your beautiful bride and new child?
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