The Non-Schedule

My dad owns a clock like this (not sure if he still has it).  It fits his personality.  It also fits the personality of the past two weeks for us.

Poor Tim.  His work schedule has been crazy lately.

He works for the FAA...not sure exactly what his job title is because it changes.  He works with computer systems and when he talks about work he speaks on a foreign language I usually don't understand.

But I do know this.  Over the past few months he is in charge of a team that is supposed to move an entire computer network from one building to another.  And when they're done moving the network, all the computers have to talk to each other the same way they were before they were moved.  And they also have to talk to all the other computers and networks around the country the same way they were before they were moved.  Because apparently computers communicating with each other is important to keeping planes in the air.

It's inside knowledge among family and friends that if the FAA makes the news, Tim is having a bad day at work.  Networked computer systems not networking can create havoc with airports and flight schedules.  His brother even called once when the FAA was in the news just to find out if Tim was working that day...not sure if it was out of concern or to harass him for making the news.

So the goal this week is for the FAA to not make the news.

If that happens, Tim had a good week and you can all call to congratulate him.

But meanwhile, his crazy schedule includes 20 hour shifts...because once you start moving a system you don't stop until it's done.  It includes a lot of 12 and 16 hour shifts also.  I'm not sure how many times Tim has slept at night in the past 3 or 4 weeks, but it's not many.

It feels like he's out of town.

The other day Nate told me, "It's been three days since I saw dad."

And yesterday morning when Gabby asked where dad was I told her he was on his way home from work.  She said, "Oh good.  If he's here today can he make my Indian food?"  (She knows when Tim is home for the day he stocks the refrigerator with Indian food.)

And Megan asked if Dad was going to be here for soccer this weekend.

And fifteen million times over the past several weeks I've heard Tim say, "Oh.  I didn't know that," about things that I assume he should know, then realize I haven't told him because if he's home, he's usually asleep.

As difficult as it is to have him gone so much, it's good to know he's missed.

We can't wait to have him back again, and we're all praying for the FAA to not make the news this week.