This morning was the low point of my time in Paris.
Clay has continued to be our biggest challenge so far and unfortunately things are trending worse and worse for him. His behavior at home has been beyond words. The only silver lining is that he's been fine at school. It is difficult to imagine the implications if that should change.
If we were back home, I think we would be in a better position to deal with his behavior. But here it adds to the stress of living and working abroad.
The latter is particularly difficult for me. Over the last couple of weeks and particularly with my trip back to Seattle, I've repeatedly received the message from my colleagues at work -- sometimes directly, sometimes between the lines -- that people generally aren't happy with what I've done. They see it as having a negative impact on their work lives and being a negative for the company.
This puts an extra burden on me to "prove" that working from Paris can be successful. It means taking those extra calls in my early mornings and evenings which overlap with Seattle. It means taking the extra trips -- back to Seattle, to the Middle East, within Europe -- to stay connected to our employees and customers and to help with our sales and business development efforts.
All of this would be fine if Clay was his normal self. But since he isn't, it has a real impact on my work. I canceled a trip this week so I could be home and help Erin with him. There is another trip in a couple of weeks which I should attend but may not be able to. And my calls in the evenings and mornings have a negative impact on the family as they are during his challenging times (i.e., when he is awake and not at school).
This combination of work and home challenges is a bit of a negative spiral where I feel like I am failing on all fronts. Thus the low point. And while I know it will get better, it is difficult to see that path from where we currently stand.
Clay has continued to be our biggest challenge so far and unfortunately things are trending worse and worse for him. His behavior at home has been beyond words. The only silver lining is that he's been fine at school. It is difficult to imagine the implications if that should change.
If we were back home, I think we would be in a better position to deal with his behavior. But here it adds to the stress of living and working abroad.
The latter is particularly difficult for me. Over the last couple of weeks and particularly with my trip back to Seattle, I've repeatedly received the message from my colleagues at work -- sometimes directly, sometimes between the lines -- that people generally aren't happy with what I've done. They see it as having a negative impact on their work lives and being a negative for the company.
This puts an extra burden on me to "prove" that working from Paris can be successful. It means taking those extra calls in my early mornings and evenings which overlap with Seattle. It means taking the extra trips -- back to Seattle, to the Middle East, within Europe -- to stay connected to our employees and customers and to help with our sales and business development efforts.
All of this would be fine if Clay was his normal self. But since he isn't, it has a real impact on my work. I canceled a trip this week so I could be home and help Erin with him. There is another trip in a couple of weeks which I should attend but may not be able to. And my calls in the evenings and mornings have a negative impact on the family as they are during his challenging times (i.e., when he is awake and not at school).
This combination of work and home challenges is a bit of a negative spiral where I feel like I am failing on all fronts. Thus the low point. And while I know it will get better, it is difficult to see that path from where we currently stand.
Sounds like a bit of a rough patch for you guys. I hope Clay can settle in and your colleagues can deal with the working arrangements. Work... the hardest part is always the people!!
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