Some weeks test your patience. Others your stamina. This week? It tested my calendar, my caffeine intake, my emotional bandwidth—and somehow still managed to remind me why I do what I do. Between last-minute presentations, sprint planning chaos, infrastructure headaches, and keeping my team sane, I also got to celebrate something far more meaningful: 25 years of marriage to the quiet girl who changed my life. Here’s how Week 42 unfolded.
Monday
Another day of juggling chainsaws on fire while spinning plates at work. It’s been non-stop for me and my teammates, but I can already see the first glimpse of that proverbial light at the end of the tunnel (or is it the headlights of an oncoming truck?). As if things weren’t chaotic enough, I learned that a meeting I thought was scheduled for Thursday is actually happening tomorrow—so I frantically carved out every minute between meetings to put together a starter slide deck while also preparing for a regular Tuesday presentation.
At the end of the day I went to see my parents, and my mom made a fresh batch of Brazilian empanadas again. The evening at home was calm—watched the New Jersey Devils game while prepping for Tuesday’s madness.
Tuesday
First presentation of the day went well, and I believe the main stakeholders were happy with the demos and roadmap I shared. We’re still tightening final details for an important team milestone and already gearing up for the new sprint, which brings another wave of features and challenges. The second presentation—the one I thought was on Thursday but turned out to be today—ended up being surprisingly productive even though not all the key people were able to attend. In a way, the smaller group made it feel more focused, and we wrapped up in about 30 minutes. I think both presentations landed well and reinforced what my team is capable of despite the many obstacles we’ve been navigating.
Spent a quiet evening at home with my wife and daughters, rotating between reading and watching hockey.
Wednesday
It was supposed to be a quieter day, but things took a weird turn early in the morning. I had to reset some expectations around someone’s role on one of my projects while also handling last-minute changes for another delivery. Then I found myself talking someone off the ledge after a round of miscommunication and unclear expectations nearly derailed another project. I can see the road ahead—clear path, light at the end of the tunnel—but for this person, the pressure had clearly become overwhelming. I offered advice and helped with a mitigation plan, though that meant taking on more myself.
Date night was a much-needed break from the chaos, and I’m happy to report I successfully disconnected from work. We went to Whole Foods and decided to just grab a mix of random things instead of a full meal—samples included. I surprised her with a huge bouquet of yellow roses (her favorite), and for good measure, I added a tiny battery-powered candle from the dollar store to make it a candlelight dinner. She loved it. We made a few plans—and changed them just as quickly—for the long weekend. Tomorrow is our 25th wedding anniversary, and I’ve got dinner reservations for all five of us—yes, daughters included.
Thursday
This was supposed to be an easy day at work with only a couple of meetings, but that dream died quickly. A mix of confusion and lack of proper support from a team responsible for the infrastructure we need caused a major slowdown in our delivery process. At one point, I was juggling multiple Slack threads while trying to keep everyone moving in the right direction. One of my best engineers was clearly getting sick, so I had to step in and strongly encourage him to log off and rest. We’re all working incredibly hard, and we thought everything was under control, but this new delivery issue brought unnecessary anxiety.
Instead of our usual game night, we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary with dinner at a fancy restaurant. Second year in a row celebrating with the girls, and honestly, I think they enjoy it as much as we do.
The Quiet Girl Who Changed My Life
Friday
I normally go to the gym every morning, and on Fridays I treat myself to an extra 10 minutes—my version of living dangerously—but today I traded gym time for coffee time with the wife. The kids were off from school, and my wife started work later, so we sat around the table talking about the weekend. We’re looking into finally upgrading our decrepit couch and maybe a few other things, but wow—good furniture is expensive. The minute I logged in for work, I got hit with wave after wave of issues—lingering aftershocks from the same infrastructure problems earlier in the week. Before I knew it, the entire day was gone and we still weren’t unblocked. By 4 PM, I had to throw in the towel and wait for the infrastructure team to figure out the root cause.
One daughter is at a Billie Eilish concert tonight, another is at a friend’s house, and the middle one is with her boyfriend—so I think my wife and I are staying in, eating leftovers, and enjoying a quiet night. Maybe that’s exactly what I need after this week, as I didn’t have much left in the tank—mentally, emotionally, or even calorically. But even with the long hours and tech fires, it was a meaningful week. Progress is being made, problems are getting solved (or at least properly escalated), my team continues to push through, and my family and I celebrated something priceless. If weeks were meals, this one was chaos served with a side of gratitude—and I’ll take that any time.
Photo by Felipe Salgado on Unsplash