I have been back at work with students for only 3 weeks, and already I feel as though I am trudging through 6 feet of lesson plans, assessments, and responsibility. I coach field hockey as well as act as Department Chair at school, and after getting home nightly at 6:30 I navigate the evening with a comatose and vacant expression. It wasn’t until I had been home for an hour and a half that I realized Scott and I were sitting in separate rooms and hadn’t said more than a few half-hearted grunts of “how was your day”.

So. Freaking. Wrong.

Though Scott is under a lot of pressure at work right now and I am feeling the weight of the educational system, there is NO excuse to allow the people we are at work dominate the couple we are all the time. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until this past week that Scott and I actually had a meaningful conversation about how we had neglected the relationship that keeps us both grounded and stable.

Not to mention, the relationship that motivates, inspires, and fulfills us both.

tbtoneyear-3

While neither of us have the right answer for combating burn-out at work and the unrealistic expectations of teachers at my school, we did decide that we needed to prioritize our time together. The past few days have been filled with unexpected little moments of adventure and excitement, and we already have spent time really enjoying our time together like we used to – time that was valuable when we lived 6 hours apart. It’s easy to take proximity for granted when you live together, but we are actively making attempts at leaving work at WORK, and allowing our time together to take priority.

What do you do when work gets in the way (other than re-evaluate your employment…)?

-Al