Finding balance between work and home

One of the most difficult yet overlooked issues in the married life is the work schedule. Will your work schedule allow you to spend the amount of time with your spouse that is needed to keep the relationship healthy, or will you two become strangers living in the same household. Most Americans work a very typical eight hour shift, more than likely they leave their homes around eight in the morning and return around five p.m., but what about those people that work third shift, swing shift, or some type of as needed schedule like myself. Lets face it, to live the type of life styles that we all want to live, we have to work right? So how much do we let our jobs and careers intrude into our home lives? When I was single, I worked every hour that was offered to me. I traveled extensively and worked from sun up until sun down, but now that I'm married and have a family, I have to try to find a balance between work and home. At one point I thought the more I work, the money I would make, the better off we would be; financially  that is very true, but time away from your spouse creates an emotional void. Once you become emotionally disconnected from your spouse it's like they would rather you be at work than at home anyway. When I first got married, my main focus was being the bread winner. I had taken on these responsibilities and I knew I needed to keep my end of the bargain.  However, as time went on I could start to see how my work schedule was affecting my home life. My wife was starting to complain or shall I say show concern.

So how can this issue be resolved?  Well my wife suggested we do a weekly date night, so every weekend we pick a spot and just hangout. We keep it simple and low cost, sometimes we don't even spend twenty dollars. During this time we get a chance to relax and enjoy each others company. Adding the date night our schedule was really great idea and I give all the credit to my wife, it's like dating all over again.  I think the date night is something we will continue to do for a while. I would recommend that all you married people out there  implement some type of date night to give you and your spouse some one on one time. It is working great for me.