I like to put my furlough day right smack in the middle of the week. Two days of work, off in the middle, then two days of work. At first I wanted to work another job and make up the difference, but then I told myself when will you get another break? I remember when I graduated from college and couldn't find a job in my field. I only had an associate degree in Industrial Design, from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, so it wasn't a very useful degree. I quickly realized that employers were looking for bachelor degrees and found I could finish in Fort Lauderdale, but I needed to work a full year just to save enough money to get there. That year I was very hard on myself, I took every freelance job I could find, and when I wasn't working, I was despondent about being stuck in Pittsburgh. I wish I would have used that time to enjoy all the art museums, spend time at the amazing Carnegie library, visit the beautiful parks, and enjoy time with friends. Instead I remember being so impatient. I couldn't wait to get a full time job in my field, and then once I did, work hours averaged 50-60 in the first few years! It finally got down to a manageable 40-45 hours in recent years but it took quite a bit of discipline. Now I'm paid for 28 hours, which I spread over 4 days. I do look forward to getting my full hours back some day, but expect it to take a year. During this time I want to challenge myself to enjoy the time off and not panic about making up the difference.
Today I did the following:
- Worked for one hour preparing consignments for an upcoming spring sale
- Paid bills
- Watered my plants
- Ordered a plant warmer and purple sweet potato slips
- Made cookies for Violette's class
- Took kids to school in the afternoon to spend time with their teachers
- Played Pokemon Go
- Came home, made a latte, did a few dishes, read a book for an hour
- Went to the library which just re-opened this week to check out more books, dad and the kids met me there on their way home from school and we enjoyed browsing together
- Wrote this blog post
In the first month I would have a huge amount of anxiety on every furlough day, but lately I've been feeling happier and more relaxed. I thought I might spend more time working on the house, but I think what I need is a few more relaxation days like today.
1 comment:
Excellent! I have to take days off as blessings and not worry about the upcoming purchase of my home, lack of income or anything else. I am getting caught up on things. My weekends are all about relaxation and quiet.
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