It was back to reality today, which marked my first day at the office after four weeks of paternity leave. Part of me was excited to get back to work and have some structure to my daily routine. I thoroughly enjoy what I do for a living, and the people at Standing Partnership are amazingly talented.

However, part of me was a little sad. It was hard to leave my little Oliver and my helpless overwhelmed beautiful wife. It also was hard to get up at 6-something. It also was difficult going back to work after accomplishing so little over the four weeks I spent away from work.

Before having Oliver, Sarah and I had a huge list of items we'd like to accomplish. You know, during those huge pockets of free time that we didn't realize would never come to fruition. So we still have shelving units, packed in their boxes, stacked in the basement next to pile after pile of items that need to be organized. We still haven't purchased a new vehicle for Sarah. And we never got through the dozens of movies we had planned to watch (I think we only watched one movie together during the entire month).

Personally, I was able to accomplish a few items. They included:

• Setting up online banking and bill paying
• Repairing the broken window in our garage
• Getting a new windshield for Sarah's car
• Completing our tax returns (ouch!)
• Almost growing a beard (I only shaved three or four times, though I consistently looked about 15 years old)

We also got to spend a lot of time with family, which was nice. And at least today was just one day, so I have the entire weekend to recover. Next week will be the big test of my endurance. Wish me luck!