Then I will suggest you might be projecting. My work saved my life. I don't regret my devotion to either my sons or my ex husband. I consider myself a success in life, something I wrote about recently elsewhere and will be happy to share the link to if you care to see it.
Of course you don't regret your devotion to your family. But what you've actually written in this thread is a defense of prioritizing work over family. So which is it?
Perhaps you have only read part of my remarks here. I have made the point that one should try to be there for important events like the birth of a child. But in the grand scheme of things, missing a birthday dinner but keeping your job, when that job is presumably supporting the family, is the right call. He said it was one of the largest clients his firm had. If the firm lost the client, depending on how large the account was, it could have cost the company more than just his job. How would he feel about that outcome? Work is sacrosanct because it is how the world takes care of people. There is a great scene in a movie about this. I wish I could remember the name of the movie.
I do not see the world in the black and white terms you are viewing my remarks through. That probably explains a lot.
I guess I am being thrown off by the words you're choosing. "Sacrosanct" means inviolable, above criticism or priority. If something is "sacrosanct," by definition it must always come first, no exceptions. It's a black and white term. If work is sacrosanct then that means that family will always be sacrificed. But then you seem to indicate that there are time that family should come before work.
You also said "I think if friends and family don't understand that your work is a priority, they should be cut loose." That seems like a pretty black-and-white position to me. But then you say that there are times that family should come first.
It also seems like you're conflating family and work, saying things like "my family was my work." When what most of us mean by "work" is an external employer. When you say "My work saved my life" are you talking about raising your family or working for an external employer?
So I guess I am just confused as to what you are trying to say. At first I thought you were trying to say that work should always come first. Now your devotion to your family is very clear to me, and you seem to be saying that people need to strike a proper balance. Which I agree with.
Sorry but I suddenly have a hugely negative bank balance and no means to address it. So my capacity to try to do any further clarification has disappearred, along with nearly $4000 in funds that I simply don't have.
Just when I thought things were getting better... <wry smile>
