Hi,
I feel like I am juggling, but not with juggling balls (or tennis balls) but with my life. Somehow I try to hold in the air my family, my work and the reserve duty.
The problem is, that once you are in the reserve duty, you cannot real hold up the family ball. Even not for a moment, for that you need to be outside with the kids and your wife and take care of them and the house.
You can somehow keep your work, but only by answering e-mails and doing some back office calculations. You can not know you will be able to get to meetings so you do not commit to those. And of course you cannot commit for field walks as you not sure you will be out for that.
From the time I had been released from mandatory service in the IDF, till October 7th, reserve duty service used to be one week a year. In one year we had to serve one full month (it was in south mount Hebron), but it was rare.
In those time frames you could say you are out for a week. In the work it was like taking one week off for a family vacation, and that was understandable. Same could be said about the family – just like you took a week out skying with your friends abroad.
But now this just the reality, you keep getting months of military reserve duty and need to keep juggle with it along with your family and work. And the worst about it, is that none can commit (or even will to talk about it) when this will all end…
Take Care
Gad
The Mediterranean sea and Israel – Egypt border, the only ball I manage to juggle when I am in reserve duty is the military reserve duty ball.