THE SITUATION SO FAR

I have chosen to write this on my birthday but missed it by a few days as I have been very tired due to the late nights. It has been about 2 or 3 months now that I have been stepping in at home only after 10pm daily - including weekends.

My weekdays are spent at work, just because I am responsible enough to finish up all outstanding issues compared to the "certified" colleague who are not able to stay late at work due to the distance to get home.

During weekends, I try to make up by spending quality moments with the family - my wife and children. Apart from driving the kids to school and the wife to work every morning, I do not have much interaction with them except over the phone or if I bring them to my bowling games and fetching the wife from tailoring class every Thursdays & Fridays. This means that we'll have minimal exposure to unhappiness & risk of getting into conflicts with the tenant of the house that we own.

What I really need to do is to discuss with the kids on their studies and problems in school. But this can't happen if the kids are distracted by the loud TV or radio at the dining area. And raising my voice will not make some people happy either.

So here I am typing this to ponder how long the late nights excuses will be available for me. With that colleague having completed the last day of service today (a.k.a resigned), I might not have anymore reasons to stay late at the office on a daily basis. It is also not suitable for me to be out of the house without the family.