The Road Less Traveled

Sometimes it's frustrating to be off the well worn path. Most of our friends can't really wrap their heads around what our work weeks are like. They either draw parallels to vaguely similar situations in their own careers -- business trips, on call days, troubleshooting, whatever -- or they focus on the travel days, corporate business credit card, and car allowance. This is one of the biggest reasons that the field is so tight: no one else understands, except another field employee.

It's a particularly sore spot tonight, as M and I both spend the night in cities not our own. I'm in Phoenix and he's in West LA. This is my first business trip on my own since we moved in together, and it's a tough transition to make for the second time.

All the same, we both feel we're making willing sacrifices in holding field jobs. There's plenty to complain about, and there's a lot of lonely nights, but we're saving money, making improvements to the house, paying for our wedding, and getting ready to send M back to school. We both look toward the future with a sense of joy and expectation, and we know that what we surrender today in freedoms and time together is helping us build the tomorrow we want.