Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Commitment

I’ve tried so hard to have a more positive attitude lately, but the truth is I seem to have only succeeded in tamping down my feelings until they explode at some seemingly small incident. Life is fun like that.

God has been so good to me—not that I’m wealthy, or that I never have problems, disappointments or heartaches—but He has carried me through difficulties I was certain I could never make it through. And I have been blessed with a loving, hard-working, Christian husband (not that he’s perfect, just in case he’s reading this), and wonderful children and grandchildren.

But...

As much as I love my daughters and grand/daughters, spending 40+ years from age 19 to 60 raising them has been a J.O.B.  And one that isn’t ending any time soon.

They are really good people, and people I cherish, but they are still human beings. And humans...all of us...can be challenging.

Imagine taking a job at age 19...not just any job, but one that requires you to be actively working, or at least on-call, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year...for FORTY YEARS.

Every day you show up to work, and instead of a paycheck you are rewarded with criticism. EVERY SINGLE DAY. Often, by more than one person. Nothing you do is ever good enough, and usually it’s just WRONG. You can’t seem to ever figure out what anyone wants because that seems to change with each sunrise. So you try to master the fine art of mind reading, but you fail at that, too. 

You fail at EVERYTHING. 

Everyone seems to be unhappy and it’s somehow your fault. EVERYTHING is your fault. You’re the most unimportant, insignificant creature ever created, but somehow everyone else’s happiness rests on your weary shoulders.

I want to resign. Or retire. Or at least recharge. But those are all rather difficult with a still-active 24/7/365/40+ year commitment.

Maybe that’s the answer. Or so I’ve been told by my employers. 

I need to be committed. 

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