My husband is in a similar evangelical role at a larger company - so travels. I am co-founder at a start-up (Booktrope). We have a six year old daughter, and many pets :)
Our biggest shift to manage it all was to work from home - myself in particular. This allows a flexible schedule to some degree (which means working when our daughter is in bed, sometimes, of course). When my husband is not traveling, he also works from home. As a bonus, when he is in town, we can take the odd lunch or dinner together or as a family. It also means that I schedule as many of my evening events around those times when he is able to be here.
Last, we took the time to find a fantastic school/care situation for our daughter, which makes us feel as though she is getting a good education, and tons of playtime with other kids regardless of our schedules - and most importantly not stuck home with me watching TV while I work.
I agree with you completely on the most critical aspect of it all, you have to both want to make it work, and be willing to take the steps needed to coordinate it all! It can be done, but it certainly isn't without challenges.
Being on the same page is key to making this work. This is the only way you can avoid the fatal choice of deciding between career and family. Thanks for the post.
Our biggest shift to manage it all was to work from home - myself in particular. This allows a flexible schedule to some degree (which means working when our daughter is in bed, sometimes, of course). When my husband is not traveling, he also works from home. As a bonus, when he is in town, we can take the odd lunch or dinner together or as a family. It also means that I schedule as many of my evening events around those times when he is able to be here.
Last, we took the time to find a fantastic school/care situation for our daughter, which makes us feel as though she is getting a good education, and tons of playtime with other kids regardless of our schedules - and most importantly not stuck home with me watching TV while I work.
I agree with you completely on the most critical aspect of it all, you have to both want to make it work, and be willing to take the steps needed to coordinate it all! It can be done, but it certainly isn't without challenges.