They'll Never Take Our Freedom

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I dislike those typical blog posts when the blogger tells the audience about how they’ve fallen off the blogging horse but are back and are here to stay. Usually, the blogger will write 2–3 more posts – sporadically – and thus dies a blog.

So this isn’t that kind of post. Although it will become clear as to why I haven’t written in a while.[1]

Starting late last year, I took an unexpected break from work. My son became extremely ill and needed to be hospitalized. My wife, new born baby daughter, and I moved into the hospital to be with him at all times.[2] We lived in the hospital for three months. Theoretically, there was plenty of time to work, but my head just wasn’t in the right place to do anything productive.[3]

Early this year, after we finally came home, I still had difficulty getting into any kind of working grove. Our son’s life will never be the same and we were adjusting to our new situation.

Apparently, I am not the type of person that uses work as a distraction.

But this is exactly why I value my current professional situation. I am lucky. I completely understand that. Not only does my wife have a good job[4], but prior to going indie, we both saved our money almost religiously. Additionally, my apps continue to sell, providing an almost passive income, when I am not working.

The combination of these three things, gives me the freedom to take an extended break to be with my family.

This doesn’t mean I never want to work again. I do enjoy creating things. But I prefer to do it on my own terms. It’s comforting to know I have this option.

In fact, mid-August, I started a six month contract working for a German startup, in addition to working on Gus. It’s been a ton of fun and I really like the people, with whom I work. But prior to starting, I once again dialed down the work in order to spend more time with my family. Although I continued working, it was not as much and usually at odd times.[5]

For me, this freedom to choose when, on what, and how much I work is extremely important.

I hope they never take my freedom.

Feel free to reach out on Twitter. I’m @yonomitt.

Have a nice day,
Yono

  1. I am trying something very simple to encourage me to write more. I’ve added an item to my daily todo list to write for 15 minutes.  ↩

  2. We literally lived in a room in the ICU for a few months. German healthcare is sooo much better that US healthcare. But that’s a different blog post.  ↩

  3. Although, I did start learning French to help keep my mind somewhat occupied.  ↩

  4. She’s currently on maternity leave – again, the German social system is amazing  ↩

  5. Often when everyone else was asleep.  ↩