ben ben benko blog

The Good Life

Yes, that’s right. Life is good. I’ve found the balance that I’ve been looking for. Unfortunately it will only last for a month and then I will probably never find it again in my life. The balance I speak of is the one that allows me to have the perfect amount of time for work, time for exercise, time with friends, time with husband, time with family, time sleeping, time cleaning, time cooking, and time just relaxing (in no particular order).

I’m working just enough to get that great feeling that I’m actually contributing something to the world, but not enough to be stressed about work all of the time. But come to think of it even when I was working 40 hours per week I wasn’t so sure I was contributing anything to the world; at least not anything worth while. But that’s another topic for another time. Anyway, I work about 14 hours per week plus some prep time and the best part is that I don’t really owe anyone anything here. If I don’t want to work I really don’t have to and I get to say how much and when.

I’m also working out on a regular basis and for the first time in my life it feels really great and I look forward to the gym. I’m finally understanding what all of my “in shape” and/or athletic friends really mean when they say they feel horrible if they don’t exercise for a few days.

I guess what all of this comes down to is that when you actually have time for everything, each of those things is infinitely more fulfilling. I have more control over my life. I’m not a slave to my job.(This is something I consciously fight against in America, but it’s always a losing battle.) I get to choose how much I work, how much I sleep, how much time I spend doing everything. It’s not a constant struggle to fit it all in. In a month I’ll be taking on 15 hours per week of Croatian lessons. That plus teaching will bring me up to 29 hours per week of firmly committed time. That will drastically change my balance. It will be a challenge but I think I’ll still be able to have some control and freedom with my time. My stress level will certainly go up but will still be much more manageable than in NY

People keep asking if we will go back to the US when H finished his service and I always basically say, “yes, of course. H has to finish school and there are more opportunities for us there” But now I can see why everyone is so curious. Our life is good here and people can see that. We’ve only been here 2 months, but I can tell that I’m going to look back longingly on this time for the rest of my life. That is, until I retire.

But I think the best part of the good life here is that H and I are getting along so well. We spend lots of time together and we still bicker from time to time, but we never seem to fight. Even when we bicker we seem to be able to turn a lot of it around and end up laughing at and with each other. We laugh a lot these days and it feels great. I feel our relationship and our love for each other growing deeper and richer with each passing day. This time together will probably be what I miss most of all when we return to our American life, but I’m confident that the growing we do here will stay with us forever.

posted by Liz @ 12:08 PM