Once jobless, I now have three jobs -- retail, service, and creative passion. My hours in retail have been dramatically cut. I check my mailbox every time I go to work (retail) to see if I have been laid off. I'm fine with 4 hours a week, but I'm uncertain about the future. Meanwhile, the free time (though it can be quite expensive -- I'm trying not to turn on the furnace while I'm at home) is exactly what I need to start my business -- Let Me Out -- a dog walking and writing endeavor.
An odd combination, I know, but they are the two things I am the most passionate about these days and somehow I must combine them under a single business license. Currently, I have a writing contract with a local school -- producing their monthly enewsletter, editing communications to families and donors, and putting together their Annual Report for the end of November. I've also been enlisted to take photographs so they have a bank of pictures to use for their various communications.
It's perfect for me in many ways. I enjoy assignments. I am a better writer when given an assignment and so far, every week there has been a field trip to attend or an interview to conduct or photographs to take.
On the side, though not quite yet a business, is dog walking. I have four dogs currently, but the paperwork for getting a business license sits on my desk -- a jumble of questions and requirements I have yet to figure out. Walking the dogs, in a roundabout way, helps with the writing -- a meditation of thought where I can formulate exactly what I want to say and how I want to say it.
But all of this makes for busy days part of the week. For instance, I am walking three dogs today, interviewing an alumnae on the phone this afternoon, and putting the finishing touches on November's newsletter, though somehow the word "finishing" doesn't feel quite accurate -- there are always tweakables, as it were, and I have yet to figure out exactly how to tweak what I wish to tweak.
And there are invoices for it all to keep track of. I'm not good at this part, but I'm learning and that learning is also part of what I must manage during the day. I'm not complaining. I'm employed and as I listen to the endless bad news on the radio, I'm exceedingly thankful I am employed, I have a mortgage I can afford, a partner who is willing to carry me financially if need be, and no outstanding bills (well, except for the student loan that I will whittle away at for the rest of my life).
It's just different and while I'm okay with different, I still feel as if the rhythm of my life is not quite in sync. It's less stressful, that's for sure, but it's not yet smooth.
Thankfully, the rain has passed on and the sun is attempting to shine as I head out the door to pick up my first two canine charges for a walk down by the lake.
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