Well, the holidays have come to an end for me. I'm back at my desk this early morning of December 30th and I'm looking at my projected collection of work that will be coming my way. While I have your attention for a moment, I thought I would reflect on the past week or so of my personal life.
Children require a lot of attention.
Whether they are older, or just newborns, children require a great deal of a parent's attention. A rough estimate of time would put me at about 75% of the entire time I was away from my work being spent looking after my kids. I love it, and wouldn't change it for the world, but sometimes the word "holiday" doesn't quite explain what time off from work really amounts to. I'm happy to be back to work, but I will definitely miss the extra time I was able to spend with those two little munchkins.
Your significant other will surprise you when you least expect it.
Growing up as a "geek" meant my interests were usually confusing to others. My parents struggled to keep me entertained and eventually gave in and let me choose whatever it was I currently couldn't get enough of. They were very supportive in that sense, and I appreciate it very much to this day.
Now, that burden falls upon my wife. She can't keep track of the hundreds of acronyms and technology terms I throw around in my every day dialog; and I don't expect her to! She is also an amazing and supportive person in my life, and I would never dream of trying to change her. She does her best to wrap her head around the myriad of topics I throw at her and pulls off an impressive dissection of the important bits from my endless ranting. With that being said, when it comes to the hardware I install in our computers, she is more interested in what the real benefits are and what it will take to make it happen than the actual benchmark numbers I might be interested in. Our little family celebrates Christmas, and on Christmas morning I was surprised beyond belief that my wife had personally gone out and purchased a video card upgrade for my computer, simply based on my endless talks about needing an upgrade. I was impressed, to say the least.
A holiday is what you make of it.
Although having young children in the house doesn't normally make for a quiet or relaxing atmosphere, I was happy to take a small break to enjoy time with my loved ones. They make my world go 'round, even more than the extra frames-per-second I'm now achieving in Skyrim.
Have a great 2014, everyone!
