Hudson Valley Parent

The secret to life Local parents share how they balance work and family By BARBARA ALLEN "[Although I have many professional commitments,] it's important that I'm home and my kids see me and that I know them and they know me," says Dan Castricone, pictured above with his wife, Marie and his three children, John, Samantha and Daniel. Photo provided by Diane Bollen at DragonflyStudioCafe.com E ven the strongest of couples can be overwhelmed with the demands of work and a family. The ever-elusive "American Dream" can be a blessing or a curse, depending on the components of our individual dreams. It is not difficult to set out on our lives with pure intentions and high aspirations, only to wake up buried under the rubble of that dream. What is the difference between those who allow the pursuit of the dream to bury them and those who manage to either achieve the perfect balance of work and family, 26 Hudson Valley Parent August 2013 or maintain their sanity and perspective in the pursuit of it? Just do your best Dan Castricone, father of three from Tuxedo, holds numerous professional positions. He runs his own Allstate insurance business in Nanuet, fulfills his role as an Orange county legislator and has his own radio show. Castricone is also the Chairman of Tuxedo's Republican Party, president of Tuxedo's Sons of Italy organization and manager of his son's Little League team. How does Castricone find a way to juggle all those roles? "We do our best," he says. His golden rule is to respect his wife, Marie, as the keeper of the calendar. Learn to say no to invitations Marie Castricone is a substitute nurse and runs a volunteer program that provides backpacks full of food for children in need to take home each weekend. Castricone says Marie is also the manager of his time, in that he realizes she has the entire family schedule pinpointed. He makes it a policy not to commit to any event without first checking with Marie's master calendar. If Castricone was to accept every

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