When I grow up...

Today was a particularly lousy day at work. Not because the work is bad but because there was nothing to do. This has been a recurring theme on this project as we continue to ramp up. Things will get better in short order, but today was just one of those days that was frustratingly long because there was nothing of any significance to be done. So, on the way home, the little voice inside my head asked, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I suppose it might be a little strange to ask such a question at my age, but I can still remember my father saying not that long ago that he still doesn't know what he wants to be when he grows up. He's been saying that, I assume, as long as he's held his current job: thirty years.

There are some great things about my job. The one word I would use to describe it is "safe." It's stable, it's relatively stress-free, it pays very well, there are opportunities for advancement, and the hours are nice. But, a software engineer is not what I really want to be when I grow up. I think I'd rather be a park ranger, or a musician, or maybe a middle school history teacher during the school year and a camp counselor every summer. I think I'd rather do something where I can be outside all day instead of looking up over my dual 20" monitors to stare out the window. But, my job is safe. And I'm not going anywhere, at least not anytime soon. There are a lot worse jobs out there than mine, and I still feel pretty lucky to have had such a successful career thus far.

So, in the end, I was just daydreaming today about what I'd like to do with my time in a perfect world. In ten or twenty years, will I have found the courage to try something new, exciting, and unsafe? Or, will I still be sitting at the computer keyboard, staring at code, and wondering, like my father, about what I want to be when I grow up?

Anyone else have similar thoughts? Would you do something different if you could break away from the safety of your career? What do you want to be when you grow up?

Getaway

Not much is new. We're still having a little trouble getting our house sold, and we're still extremely sleep deprived thanks to the kids taking turns getting up in the middle of the night. It's mostly Sarah, of course, but Jack has been having some sleeping issues recently now that his two-year molars are coming in. So, we've decided this weekend would be a great opportunity for us to take a little overnight excursion away from the kids. We'll be leaving the kids with my folks and heading to the Bavarian Inn in Shepherdstown, WV, for an adults-only night of fine German dining, tasty German beers, a good night's sleep, and NO KIDS! I'm sure we'll miss them terribly, but we desperately need a night away.

Jack and Sarah

I meant to get these pictures up a while ago, as they are about a month old now, but, as you can tell from some of my other recent posts, we've been pretty busy. Anyway, I just wanted to mention to those that don't know just how much Jack enjoys being a big brother. He is very interested in everything that has to do with the baby, and he is uncharacteristically gentle with her. He also really likes to get next to Sarah and ask to have his picture taken with her. Overall, despite the sleep deprivation, it's been a lot of fun having a newborn and a toddler at home!

Setback

We had some bad news today. The people that were going to buy our townhouse pulled the contract because the husband's new job for which they were relocating lost its funding, and therefore they are apparently staying in California. Hopefully this is just a minor and temporary setback. But, it puts a few unknowns back into the equation. Will we get a new offer quickly enough to be able to close by the time the new house is ready? Will the next offer be for less money than the first? Will the next offer we accept even make it through to closing or die beforehand like the first one? Stay tuned...