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I love my dad. I'd never say it to his face, but he's strong, dedicated, and manages to put everything in perspective even during tough times. I can't think of anything bad to say about him; he works incredibly hard to support a family of four (plus two dogs), puts up with two adolescent children, is currently teaching both his children how to drive, and still finds time for our mother. However, he does work long hours, and even when he isn't at work, he's usually fixing something around the house. For example, he was able to repair a skylight that three separate repairmen told us had to be replaced; he singlehandedly built a pulley system to hang a ghost from a tree on Halloween; and last year, he took apart our television to diagnose a problem and spent two whole months on the project. I mean it in the most respectful way possible, but he is definitely a work-aholic.

Honestly, living with a work-aholic parent isn't that bad. See, though one generally makes the assumption that someone who spends all of his or her time working on projects doesn't have time for family or friends, my father invites my brother and me to help him work on his projects. From one angle, I enjoy working with him because it's a father-son (or father-son-son, if my brother's with us) experience, and if he's working all the time, then I want to spend time with him while he's working. We've built electronics together, set up a home theater system, and even repaired a car. Having a work-aholic parent can be very valuable because it gives you a chance to bond over a project and create something together.

However, there are some negative aspects to having a parent who works so much. For example, maybe I don't like to work as much as my dad, which means that if I don't want to work on a project with him one day, then I won't get to spend as much time with him. There are some weekends when, believe it or not, I'd rather not take apart the engine to my mother's car, so I'll just sit in bed or hang out with my friends while my dad does what he wants. I'm all up for manual labor on a good day, but I work out enough to make my muscles sore, so I won't want to lift car parts across the garage. Sometimes, having a parent who always works means that he or she might want you to always work as well, and you may not agree with this.

I have never had an issue with my dad being too busy to drive me somewhere. He knows when I need him, and he never puts work before either of his sons. Usually, though, children complain that their work-aholic parents are too busy to pay attention to them or too busy to care for them. When this happens, you should probably find your parent on the occasion that he or she isn't busy and tell him or her how you feel. If you can connect emotionally with your parent, then he or she might lighten up and make more time for you. I'm lucky; my dad isn't always the busiest person in the world, but not everyone has that blessing.

If your parent doesn't seem to have time to be a parent because he or she is too caught up in his or her work, then you need to have a conversation. Yet, you might find that you enjoy undertaking projects with your over-worked parent; however, you could find that you don't want to spend as much time working on projects as your parent would like. It all depends on what your current situation is, so I can't make generalizations about the scenario. All I can give you is my experience and ask you to compare it to your own before you decide how to handle your work-aholic parent.

Learn more about this author, David Aaron White.
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