Kim planted some gorgeous flowers in our front yard this week. I don’t know why we don’t do this more often. Having flowers around the yard and house make everything seem so much more alive with their vibrant colors and wonderful scents.

Tonight, the ice cream man was driving up and down the streets of our neighborhood which give me an idea. I need to find a mobile flower delivery service. Every few weeks or so I’d be willing to purchase a round of new flowers to plant around the house or display in our house. The times I see flowers for sale at the store or Pikes Market are the times when it’s the least convenient.

I don’t want to have to go online and browse through hundreds of options. I want someone to pick out the top 5 or 6 of the season and just bring them by the house.

That sounds really lazy. But it can’t be any worse than grocery delivery service can it?

Here are a few of the flowers now found in our yard

Most companies I’ve worked for have talked about maintaining a work/life balance. In other words, do whatever it takes to get the job done regardless of family, friends or outside hobbies. I’m always skeptical when I hear a company preach balance because they can’t possibly know what “balance” means for every single employee. It’s an HR buzzword.

I used to believe it was the job or company that dictated how much balance, if any, existed. If I could just find the right position or the right company, magically everything would come into focus and my family would be given the same priority as my work required.

I was dead wrong. It’s not the company. It’s not the position. It’s me. It’s how I manage the job, not how the job manages me. It’s setting expectations right from the starts with my manager, my reports on when I’ll be available and what hours I will work. Over the past few years I’ve found that nearly every manager has been accommodating to my desired schedule.

Some weeks I do better at managing my work load and family time. But now I know I’m in charge rather than the job or the company.

Conditional answers don’t work with kids. If I attempt to give them an answer such as: “We can go outside and play if it doesn’t start to rain”. They just want to go outside now!

I wish more adults were like this. I can act on a yes or no. I know where I stand and what I need to do. I can move on or get back to work. It removes the gray areas.

This is one trait I like about my current boss. I don’t get a long-winded story that ends in ambiguity. I never leave his office wondering what the answer was. I know straight up whether I got a yes or no.  Even when the answer is no, at least I know to move on and find another solution. It’s oftentimes hard to say no, but it’s the right thing to say when it’s the honest answer.