I’ve been asked a lot recently when do I get a break and the reality is, I don’t. I can lie and say that I do, but the reality is that I do not.

We have been faced with a lot of challenges lately as a family with my wife now having had her 3rd surgery in four months and it has been hard! Really hard!

But, there has been a lot of good that has come from it as well and has been something that I have been able to really point out to the boys.

There have been a lot of teachable moments over the course of the last four months, one starting with and continuing with the point that life is not fair. It just is not and that is a fact. But as I remind the boys daily, we have choices.

We can choose to get down on our luck and frustrated or we can choose to realize how blessed we are and have been.

And then last night, after getting my wife home from her shoulder surgery a friend asked me, when do I get a break, because he was genuinely concerned. Reading the text message stopped me in my tracks, because I do not really get a break. I do, but rarely.

I force myself to ride the Peloton for at least 30 minutes a day, do 10 minutes of stretching and at least 5 – 10 minutes of meditation a day. But that is about it.

The pandemic has really forced me to stop and realize what is important. I no longer want a long commute to work, I really didn’t want it when I was doing it, but I really do not want one now. I want more family time, I crave it more than ever before. And what I am realizing, is that in that family time or when I am on the bike, I am getting a little break.

Life is truly about perception. What one might view as not getting a break, another might realize, that they are getting many little breaks. So I try to remind myself, that everyone views life through different lenses. I myself, have struggled with finding the good in a bad situation, I admit it. Now, I am forcing myself and teaching my sons that even though life can be a struggle sometimes, there are many positives there too.

So today, as I took the week off to take care of my wife and spend time with my boys, I am choosing to take a break. I have to check emails periodically and I am getting non stop text messages, both from friends, family and work, I am choosing what I want to respond to. And though this isn’t a relaxing break, none the less, I am taking the time to focus on my kids, take care of my wife and to relax some.

So this morning as I responded to my buddies text from last night about when do I get a break, I told him that I was on the bike and taking my first break of the day. It is all about choices. It is all about forcing yourself find the good in a bad situation. I am choosing to take a break from social media and the noise. I have chosen to delegate work to my team. Today, I am choosing to take a break!