Being a Family Guy is The Toughest Job in the World

Being a Family Guy is The Toughest Job in the World

A friend of mine has the toughest job in the world. We're in the same business and even work for the same company, but he has what I regard as the most difficult and demanding job. You see, in addition to working here with me, my friend Jim is a real family guy.

I don't just mean some fellow with a wife and kids. Lots of guys have those. I mean my friend Jim's purpose in life seems to be to ensure the welfare and happiness of his family. By my standards his family is huge. He has a wife, four kids--two in elementary school and two in high school, a mother-in-law, his own mother, two sisters, and two brother-in laws. Long ago I lost count of his nieces and nephews. On my desk I have a Rolodex with the names of my business contacts. Jim could fill his own Rolodex with just the names and birthdays of his family.

Over the years there have been occasions when I've accompanied Jim after work. Even a simple trip home usually means at least one stop at the grocery store and more often than not a stop at the high school to pick up a teenager who stayed late for sports practice. It's not just Jim's constant movement, constantly being on-the-job and looking out for others, that astonishes me. It's also the amazing feat of memory. How does he keep track of so many people?

Jim's care and affection doesn't stop with just his immediate family. Once he was worried that his mother-in-law might be getting depressed after a surgery so he moved her across several states to put her up in a spare bedroom in his house. He also plowed up, destroyed, a patch of his beautifully tended back lawn because he knew his mother loved to garden. Once his brother-in-law was in danger of losing his apartment. Jim took time off from work to go and have a discussion with the landlord. And it seems the spare room at his house always contains an uncle or aunt on an extended visit.

I've often wondered how Jim always seems to remain in a good mood. That's not to say he doesn't get sad or angry. Once I saw him arrive at work with sort of a dazed expression. In his right hand he held what looked like a lock of blonde hair. It seems his youngest discovered scissors. That was three years ago and the lock is still bound together on his desk at work. And just this morning I overheard him having a telephone conversation with his sixteen-year-old son. His voice was patient, deliberate, and final. When he got off the phone he looked over at me and said, "I love that boy. He's silly and misdirected. He's still got a lot to learn. But I love that boy." I wanted to ask him what the kid did, but I'll probably find out later. See, tonight is Jim's wedding anniversary, and Jim asked if I'd come to his place and spend time with his kids while he takes his wife to a restaurant.

I don't know how this guy with the toughest job in the world, this family guy, does it. I guess he must love his work.