It All Comes Down to Kids

[This is the second of four posts regarding my decision to leave the UCC and what’s next. Read the first post.]

Why are you leaving the UCC?

I met my wife through a mission trip that I only went on because a
friend asked me to go in the UCC computer lab. Four of the five priests
and the deacon at our wedding I knew through the UCC (and the fifth I
met because of the trip I met my wife on!). We went to the marriage
preparation workshop here and had our daughter baptized here. As much of my family existing is because of the UCC, they are my primary motivation in moving on.

Having two weeks at home after the birth of Olivia got to me. I liked
being at home. I liked being able to go in from working in another room
into the living room with Vanessa and Olivia. If I missed Olivia, I
just picked her up. I liked that a lot. As much as I tried to shake it,
I simply missed being at home with my family. I know, I know, most
people spend 40+ hours a week at work outside the home and that’s
great. It’s not what was enriching me though.

I was fortunate enough to transition out of pastoral ministry into a position driven more by operations when Olivia was born, which was a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it established regular, set hours and allowed me the freedom, without guilt, of being at home even though most things within the building happen in the evenings. The curse, however, was that I missed the students.

In all fairness, there’s no way to have my cake and eat it too. Can I have all of the hours at home I want while still doing everything that satisfied me at the UCC? At least with our current workload levels, it’s not possible. Do I do something that isn’t as enjoyable while not being as home as much as I want, do I do something I enjoy quite a bit but be at home even less, or do I go for a third option?

I’m choosing option three.