“What do you do anyway?”
My five-year-old daughter, Lauren, asked me that recently. It was a fair question. Whereas some parents head out the door every morning to work or drop their little ones off at school before heading into the office, my day looks a little different.
I’ll be the first to tell you that working remotely from home has a lot of perks. The lack of commute and the comfort of working from my house are only two of many. I don’t think I ever anticipated the impact it would have on me as a dad.
Being a dad is something I wanted to be my whole life.
She has inspired me to be a better person. She’s my whole world. Since we decided a while ago that we only wanted one child, I wanted to experience everything with Lauren that I possibly could – and that means being involved in her world as much as possible.
I worked retail management for nearly 20 years before finding the tech industry and ReCharge. I know from experience that retail means weekends, holidays, overtime, and staying late. I could never balance being a dad in the same way I am now with that retail world I worked previously.
When my daughter is sick, I’m right there beside her… every time. When she gets hurt while outside with her friends, I’m there for her… every time. On the first day of school, I was there. Picking her up after school, I’m there. Every time she comes home from being with family, I’m there. Every holiday, I’ve been there.
ReCharge and working remotely have enabled me to be a constant presence in her life. I was the stay at home parent when she was a baby and I adored every minute of it. At the time, I dreaded returning to work in retail knowing I would miss out on any moments in her life. ReCharge has not only given me a career that I love and am passionate about but has literally been an answer to my prayers in that I never have to miss any moment of my daughter’s life.
2020 added a whole new perspective to being a parent when we were faced with the pandemic. COVID meant that Lauren’s full-time school schedule became full-time homework. Keeping a toddler engaged and learning and still balancing work and home-life is challenging to every single one of us.
ReCharge bent over backward to make our lives a little easier. When I needed to work and have dad-duty at the same time, the nature of my role was one that I could flex and be here for her! There are times when I need to step away from my desk to make sure she’s set up for her learning time, or just has everything she needs, and if not for my remote role I couldn’t be there in the same way. We have decided to send her back to school full-time in the fall but I am prepared to also make changes to my day as we navigate the new normal.
My wife is a 911 Dispatcher. She has a very important job, works a lot of hours and loves her career. My career with ReCharge means that both of us can rest easy knowing that one of us is always here for Lauren.
I’ve never missed a school event, I’ve never missed a doctor’s appointment for her and I drop her off and pick her up from school every day (pre-COVID of course) and that is so important to me.
At the end of the day, she might not understand what dad does or why he works in the office at home but I know years from now that she’ll appreciate the fact that I was always here for her. Of all the things ReCharge and my remote career has done for me, being a more present dad is one of the best things of all.
This article originally appeared by our friends at ReCharge Payments.
