Taking Care of Business

Wow! This week has been exhausting! My personal goal of posting once a day has (obviously) taken a back burner the past five days. Made a little money and focused on the more important things in life.

Wednesday-Friday I substituted again for a friend in my discipline. It was a blast in a lot of ways-- much easier than just walking into a classroom without really knowing what's being covered-- but it was also totally exhausting. I pretty much came home, collapsed into a puddle, and went to bed early. Made about $240 gross and will get paid in late march.

Wednesday and Thursday we went to donate plasma. Didn't get to either day. Long story. Unfortunately my husband will never get to donate. I probably could if I'm not dead next time I go (long story-- I'm fairly sure the blood pressure machine was broken), and if I can swallow my indignation and frustration well enough to sit through that again.

Friday evening through this afternoon my husband and I attended a marriage conference. We enjoyed it very much and loved getting to spend the time focusing on each other and our relationship. I know I would have gotten more out of it if I had a little bit more sleep the past few days, but it was important to have that time anyway.

Things can get ugly out there, ladies and gentlemen. There were over 400 people there who attended for free because they gave it to anyone who had lost their job in the last 6 months. Money is the number one cause of fights in marriage-- I'm sure you've all heard that statistic. If you can't support and cling to your mate in these times, the prognosis isn't good, folks. Take care of your relationship with each other before anything else right now.

If you've lost one or both jobs, a lay-off is looming, or if you're just worried about what could happen, talk about it. Hug, cry together, reassure each other that you still love each other and you're in it for the long haul. Then make a plan. Cut everything that's not vital to existence. Go donate plasma together. Make sure your man knows that you are proud of him for delivering pizzas so that you can have a roof over your head. A man who will swallow his pride to provide for his family is a hero, not a failure. If you are that man, I am proud of you. There isn't a better gift you could give to your wife than to provide for her.

Where we live it's pretty warm, so we haven't had the heat on for weeks. My fingers are pretty cold right now, but it's not miserable with a blanket and a warm laptop in my lap. My first student for my private lessons comes tomorrow. I can donate plasma and take sub jobs (as much as I'd like to avoid that some days). My husband is going to do his best to have a job by the end of the week, even if it's delivering pizzas for Domino's. We bought a couple of papers again tonight so that I can continue clipping coupons for next month's groceries. We're taking care of business so that we don't have to live in fear, shame or guilt. We're in this together-- for better or worse, richer or poorer.

Coming up-- our budget may be changing. A revised plan until we get our feet under us. Hopefully we'll get to eat more than peanut butter and ramen noodles, but we'll see what we can do.