- You have to take vacation to mow your lawn.
- You offer your kids to drive with you to Wawa to get milk and call it “special time”
- You routinely forget to write in your blog ;)
- You get excited to go to bed “early” at 2am
- You feel stressed out, but you can’t really remember why
- Simple pleasures like eating or taking a shower seem like a waste of valuable time
- All your chores at home just sit there . . . staring at you . . . everytime you go to work
- You write a blog . . . about being too busy!
Anyone have any others?
I’m sitting here waiting in a townhouse that I co-own and landlord. This is the ancient dance of “landlord waits for potential tenant.” This happens every time we need to show a house. Some person sets up an appt with me (less than 24 hours ago!) and then doesn’t show. And doesn’t answer their phone when I call! Who does this? It feels intentional. Like someone out there just pranks landlords. This harkens back to an eariler post where I talked about my lack of patience for people who don’t consider other peoples feelings. This person is so selfish – don’t they know I have a job to be at, things to do…\n\nArg. He’s still not here.\n\nHow long do I wait before leaving? Is he lost? Why won’t he answer his phone?\n\nHmf.\n\nBored.\n\nLeaving.
It’s late, I’m tired, and I have to get up early tomorrow. And I’m in a little bit of a bad mood honestly. But I’m committed to this blog :)
I’m doing a side job for the Latshaws with Jonathan. We are re-finishing their basement. It’s pretty fun from a “challenge=fun” standpoint. I enjoy carpentry – it forces me to use different parts of my brain (and body!) than I’m used to. I also generally like how you get to see things improving quickly. That is, when you don’t stink at it.
Tonight I made like 5 mistakes in a row. Now, I’ve worked with seasoned carpenters before, and I know that happens to the best of them. But that didn’t make it any less frustrating for me.
And on top of that, a simple task at church today was complicated by my inability to think straight, and ended up taking me twice as long as it should have. Arg!!
So I’ve had some frustration today. I’m sharing it with all those who will read. I’m going to bed, and believing for a less frustrating tomorrow.
I’m a full time pastor, but I do graphic design as a side job. I haven’t seen any real work for that side job now for half a year. The economic downturn hits home…
This has left me relatively stressed about money. I hate being stressed about money. So far, in my ten years after graduating from college with honors, I have yet to go beyond living paycheck to paycheck. Well scratch that – it happened for about 4 months right before my side job dried up.
So now I’m trying to figure out what to do. Do I trust God and wait for the side job to pick up? If so, for how long? Do I look for another job? What kind? One that I can do at home from my computer would be ideal, but hard to come by. Nothing I could do part time will earn me what design work did.
I’ve thought about teaching at a Christian school part time, coaching a team at a highschool, becoming a bus driver. I even got some applications for being a bus driver, but the lady didn’t think I had much of a chance. Plus, the time commitment makes it almost impossible to hold down my regular job. Who knew?
The problem with most of these jobs, is they will take me away from my family more, which is not something I really want either…at all.
So right now I’m kind of waiting, and pursuing whatever small side jobs present themselves. This is how we used to live when we first got married. I had a job, Mandy had a job, and then God brought small opportunities whenever we needed them. Right now I’m working to finish a basement for a friend of mine. Not the kind of work I really love, but it’s work.
So I’m looking for silver linings:
Not having any design work at night: frees me to up to watch lots of TV! (Yes! – On to my second season of House already!), gives me an opportunity to pursue some other creative goals that maybe I normally wouldn’t (have to say lately TV is winning out against creative goals, but still…), gives me a chance to start a blog! Hey!
Working construction: gives me a chance to learn new things (which I love), work with my hands (which I love until they hurt really bad), wake up early (which I hate), and get dirty (always fun).
Having less money: helps me appreciate the little things in life more (like Ritas, Ritas, Ritas – it’s so cheap!), makes me better at budgeting (who doesn’t want that?!), teaches us discipline (again – fun), and in general, I think, can bring us closer as a family.
So yeah, what in your life are you currently looking for silver linings in?