Puzzle and a glass of whine

For a variety of reasons (long hours, extra days, technical complications), it's been a very tough week with my online job. Last night – after a 12-hour day – all I wanted was a glass of whine and the soothing relaxation of a jigsaw puzzle.

I think everyone has the occasional rough week at work. This was one of them. Perhaps this is apropos:

Let's hear it for trained monkeys

I grew to adulthood in the mid-to-late 1980s, when female empowerment was all the rage and ascending in one's corporate career (it was always a corporate career) was all-important.

(Remember 1980s "power dressing"?)

Along with millions of other young women, I fell for that mindset after graduating from college in 1985. For many years I was caught up in the career-is-supreme corporate culture. I wore business clothes to work. I read Working Woman magazine.

I tossed that all away in 1993 when Don and I left urban California and moved first to Oregon, then later to Idaho. Suddenly that relentless pressure on career success as a woman was in a different galaxy, and we settled into the joys and tears of  a home woodcraft business, parenthood, and homesteading.

But far, far away, that pressure for women to climb the corporate ladder continued unabated. Once in a while, a news or magazine article would pierce my contented little bubble of domesticity and profile a woman who "had it all," but most of the time the corporate culture was ... well, far far away.

So here we are, decades later and even deeper into rural living. The kids have grown up. Don retired and passed the woodcraft business to Older Daughter, and now he concentrates on projects to build up the homestead. I'm currently the breadwinner in the family, and I earn that bread by being what I like to call a "trained monkey."

I earn income freelance writing (magazines) and fiction writing (Harlequin's Love Inspired line), but it's the three-days-a-week online job in which I call myself a trained monkey. I do my job, and do it well, but I'm not called to make executive decisions or take heavy responsibility. And you know what? I've learned I like being a trained monkey.

A lot of this enjoyment has to do with my (remote) coworkers, who happen to be all men. These guys are smart, respectful, flexible, and easy to work with. That goes a long long way toward job satisfaction for us trained monkeys.

Anyway, the reason this issue came to mind is because of an article I stumbled across recently called "I Just Want a Dumb Job." [Language warning.] It profiled three women who lived and breathed the corporate or entrepreneurial environment, and burned out.

The intro to the article reads, "You got your dream job! Congratulations. Except – it sucks. The hours are terrible, the pay is bad, and your shiny title doesn't make up for the stress and drama. You secretly start to envy your friends who you used to make fun of – the corporate sellouts who clock in, clock out, and get paid. What does it feel like to realize that everything you thought you wanted in a career is actually a mirage? Here, three women talk about quitting the glamorous jobs they fought hard for and finding out that they're much happier on the other side.'"

It was that line "You secretly start to envy your friends who you used to make fun of" that caught my eye. In the mid-80s, mocking women who preferred domesticity over corporate climbing was very "in." I'm pleased to see those career expectations easing.

In the article, one woman noted, "As I've gotten older and had kids, my professional objectives have shifted: I want to earn as much as I can with the least amount of soul-sucking drama, so I can spend time with my family."

Another woman said, "I remember having drinks with a friend once and being like, 'I just want a dumb job. I just want to work for someone else, and not have to be on my toes all the time and not think so much.' ... Maybe I'm a corporate sellout, but it’s nice to have a healthy division between my job and my personal life. ... Now, when I'm not clocked in, I'm not thinking about work. And that's so freeing."

I understand that. I totally understand that.

While the intense corporate ladder climbing of the 1980s is a thing of the past (or is it?), women are still encouraged to have high-profile careers with the accompanying pressure. But here's the thing: A lot of women aren't cut out for that. I know I'm not. I like being a trained monkey.

Has anyone experienced this?

Three a.m. wake-up call

Ah, there's nothing like lying awake in bed, knowing you have unfinished work.

Article deadlines caught up with me this week. Normally I hit my deadlines well ahead of the mark, but of the four columns and five articles I had due in January, I got behind on the last two articles. I finished one yesterday, but the other remained ... undone. And today (Thursday) is the start of my workweek for my online job, which means my focus and concentration will be elsewhere.

So I got up. At 3 o'clock a.m. Lit a fire in the cookstove. Made tea. Got to work. Plunged into the gory subject of sudden deaths in chickens (an assignment for Backyard Poultry Magazine). Got it finished and submitted by the time my job started (my start time is flexible, but I usually get going around 6:30 a.m.).

I'm not a night person – my brain shuts down in the evening – so it's easier for me to get up at some ungodly hour in the morning than to try and force any coherent thought late into the night.

Still, a three a.m. wake-up call is a little excessive, even for me (yawn). I'm a bit gritty-eyed already. Gonna be a long day.

A week of writing

If I've been unusually quiet on the blog lately, it's because I've been writing my fingers to the bone.

It's been crazy. My (early) morning starts when I team up with my fiction writing buddy, Ann Malley. She's on Eastern time and I'm on Pacific time, so it's good that I'm an early bird. We coordinate by email and put in a dedicated half-hour of pounding the keyboard on our respective fiction works (such as my current work-in-progress, an inspirational suspense). We call this our mini-NaNoWriMo (that's National Novel Writing Month, the crazy practice of writing a 50,000-word book in a month). Writing for a heated half-hour allows us both to progress steadily in our work, usually about 1000+ words at a time, without blowing our brains out like NaNoWriMo does.

After that, Ann and I collaborate on some short (800 words or so) romantic fiction pieces we're working on. We write them separately but edit each other's works. Our goal is to eventually combine them into a collection called "Five Minute Flirts" or something like that.

After that, we peel off and go our separate ways for the day. Ann has many fiction works in progress, and I turn my attention to nonfiction. And it's the nonfiction that's been taking up the bulk of my time lately. This month, endless articles are due.

Naturally I have my weekly WND column to submit no later than noon on Friday. Usually I have to decide what I'm writing about by Tuesday so I have a few days to noodle around the idea. Fortunately I have, at present, 868 files I've created over the years (in which I collect links and ideas on various subjects) from which I can pick. Other times I create something out of thin air. This week's column was a "thin air" column.

This past week has been heavy on Lehman's stuff too. As many of you know, I write for the Amish store Lehman's, specifically their blog. I've become their go-to "interview" person to introduce any speakers they plan to have at the store. The season is gearing up, so I received three assignments in the last two weeks. These assignments are fabulous opportunities to "cyber-meet" some amazing people. I'm a Lehman's fan to the bone, so I consider these writing assignments a huge privilege.

I usually also have something in the works for Backwoods Home Magazine and Self-Reliance Magazine. Don and I both write for them, and at the moment we're collaborating on a large article involving pioneer/frontier skills. This piece was getting quite scattered because the subject is so huge, so on Monday we had a conference call with the editor to get a better grasp of what she wants, as well as what our word-count limitation is. After the call, we put together a proposal and sent it to the editor. She refined to proposal, so now we're both working on that article which is due February 14.

Actually, the editor liked everything we pitched in the proposal, but it won't all fit into one article. I have a feeling this will turn into a two- or even three-part article in order to address all the subjects sufficiently.

Knowing this article was looming, and in addition to the online research we're doing (including diaries and other original sources), we've bought a couple of reference books. This one is a library discard printed in 1961 which amazingly detailed and an excellent purchase.

I also had a shorter article for Backwoods Home I sent in this week as well, for which I sent 17 possible photos so the editor can choose which ones she likes.

Then there's the magazine Handmade Business. I had pitched an article idea back in December which the editor wanted by late February, so I was able to finish that one up well ahead of deadline. The editor at Handmade Business often sends me article requests (usually one at a time, but sometimes two at a time) with short deadline notices, and I make it a point to get them done in a timely fashion. I like writing for this magazine and the editor is great.

I've also been collaborating with the editor of Goat Journal and Backyard Poultry (the same person edits both publications). She requested a Goat Journal article by the end of the month, so I've only started the preliminary research on it, not the actual writing. But I had a Backyard Poultry article I just submitted, and we've been going back and forth about suitable illustrations for it. Don pulled together two of the illustrations, but for the rest I'm in the process of requesting permission to reprint photos from various sources. This is a frustrating activity because the sources don't always get back to me, in which case we have to find alternate sources.

Oh, and we're also working on the tail end of a massive order of tankards. We shipped the bulk of them out this past Monday, and the rest go out the door this upcoming Monday.

Anyway, that's what I've been up to this week. It's been a balancing act trying to get everything accomplished, but it gives you a peek into the life of folks who work at home.

Early to bed, early to rise...

When I was in high school, I distinctly remember setting my alarm clock for 6 am so I had an hour to read in bed before getting ready for school. During summer vacations, I would often get up around 5 am just ... because.

Interestingly, in the summers when our schedule was flexible, I would often wake up just as my younger brother was going to bed. (To say he's a night owl barely hints at the degree of his nocturnal preference.)

You see, I'm a morning person.

When our girls were babies and toddlers, early mornings were my time. It was the only chance I had to get some writing done, drink a quiet cup of tea, and not have tiny children demanding my attention. When the girls grew out of that stage, my early morning "my time" continued -- a necessary compromise in a household where all work is done at home and everyone is together 24/7. We all need our "alone" time. Since Don is a natural night owl (though not quite as bad as my younger brother), he gets his "alone" time after I go to bed.

Now that our girls are grown and gone, my early bird habits continue. It's not unusual for me to pop out of bed at 4 am or even earlier. Just don't ask me to stay awake beyond 9 pm or I turn into a zombie.

Which is why I found this article so interesting: "Waking up early can make you healthier and wealthier — yet 95 percent of Americans hate mornings."

"A whopping 95 percent of Americans hate mornings, according to a new Ipsos survey commissioned by the Sargento cheese company," starts the article. "And 43 percent of people 'despise' the sound of their alarm clock, while 39 percent identify as 'slow risers' who need to ease into their day."

In a society that requires most people to show up for work at 8 or 9 am (or earlier), the night owls have it tough. On the other hand, I've had jobs where I worked nights, and that's just as tough (if not tougher, I like to think). That's one of the blessings Don and I have cultivated over our married life -- working from home allows us to set our own hours and work when we're freshest and most awake. It's also handy during winter when Don can stoke the woodstove before going to bed and I can stoke it when I get up, so the house stays cozy.

One preference (early bird vs. night owl) is not inherently superior to the other, despite the old proverbs about who gets the worm. As long as the work gets done, who cares when it's accomplished? However the characteristic does appear to be genetic.

Unfortunately for the night owls, most sleep-cycle advice articles tend to focus on how they can reprogram their internal clocks, something early birds are usually spared (no one calls us lazy if we go to bed at 9 pm).

So I guess the bottom line is Vive la différence. I'm glad there are night owls to work graveyard shifts when the early birds are in bed.

How we celebrated Independence Day

We're not doing anything special today. We're not traveling anywhere, we're not shooting off fireworks, we're not doing anything out of the ordinary. But we ARE celebrating independence in our own modest way.

We're working. We're in the middle of a production run of 300 pieces, pulling together the inventory I'll need for my annual sales trip to Portland coming up toward the end of the month. We independently created a business that provides income.

I milked Polly this morning. Got 1.25 gallons. We are independent of buying milk from the store.

We picked strawberries again yesterday evening. Got about eleven pounds. So we are independent of buying strawberries.

I watered the garden. We are growing beans, corn, potatoes, fruit, broccoli, brussels sprouts, onions, herbs, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, spinach, carrots, melons, pumpkins, etc. It provides independence from purchasing those items.

We fed the bull and made sure the livestock had fresh water. We are entirely independent of buying beef.

We fed and watered the chickens. We are independent of buying chicken meat and eggs.

Our girls went to their job. They are learning to be independent young women.

This is what we did (or are doing) today. How is everyone else celebrating?

Learning the basics of economics

The girls are working.

They have jobs as housekeepers for some friends who own a motel. Four or five days a week, they drive into town (Older Daughter now has her driver's license! She passed her driver's test with flying colors!), work, and then come home. Both are pleased to be earning money and are intelligently divvying their income between savings and spending. Older Daughter is the primary housekeeper, and when there are too many rooms for her to handle on her own, she "hires" Younger Daughter to assist. Younger Daughter also works as a groundskeeper for some neighbors when they're away traveling.

On the days they use the car, we charge Older Daughter $4 for gas (about how much it costs for each round trip into town). We are also requiring her to pay $50/month for her car insurance, which is tacked onto ours (insurance costs are low in Idaho). Such is Real Life.

Nonetheless the girls are earning money, and are having a lot of fun deciding what to do with it. Older Daughter is saving up for a car. Younger Daughter is socking away a lot of her earnings, also with the notion of a car in the distant future.

We opened up checking accounts for both kids so they can start learning the intricacies of handling their income -- the mechanics of deposits, withdrawals, debit card use, online banking, balancing a checkbook, etc.

With the (cough) "power" of a debit card to make online purchases, both kids spent a bit of money at first, primarily ordering books they've wanted. They're learning to set aside a certain amount of "play" money and not go beyond that amount without considering whether the purchase is really worth it.

I found it interesting that after a couple of fun days in town when the girls went to the grocery store and bought their lunches, they quickly realized how easy it is to fritter away their paycheck on unnecessary and temporary pleasures (such as deli food). Now every morning they diligently pack a lunch to bring with them.

I'm proud that our girls are developing a reputation for being hard workers. I'm also pleased that they're discovering, through their own efforts, the basics of Real Life economics.

The importance of a work ethic

This week Don has been employing Enola Gay's oldest son, Master Hand Grenade, to help build an awning on our barn for additional shelter for our cattle this winter.

This young man is doing a lot of stuff he's never done before, but he attacks each step with enthusiasm and willingness. More importantly, he's courageous. Due to some birth difficulties, Master HG's sense of balance isn't the best, but that didn't keep him from tackling heights and climbing on roofs. Don has come away with a deep appreciation for Master HG's work ethic.

I never worry about people who have a work ethic, because that alone will carry them far in life, no matter their age. I know a couple in their 50s who, despite high levels of education, kept body and soul together by pulling weeds after the husband lost his job. He later found a position commensurate with his work experience and education, and I would like to think his present employer was impressed that he preferred to pull weeds than take easy government money while unemployed.

It's those who lack a work ethic that concern me. The lack of a work ethic isn't just an annoyance that someone refuses to pull his weight. It's an attitude that permeates one's entire life and has repercussions on everything from employment potential to how you raise your kids. And above all, a solid work ethic impacts how you fare in a bad economy.

The problem is that too many people don't know how to work. I don't mean they're physically or mentally incapable of doing the job; I mean they don't see the need to apply themselves any more than they want to.

Over at The Dependent Independent, Lee discusses how a work ethic could impact things if the bleep hits the fan. Worth a read.

He who will not work...

This past Sunday in church it was my turn to do the Bible readings on which the sermon text was based.  I love giving the readings because there are few things to equal the majesty of reading Scripture out loud.

And it was an extra pleasure because the New Testament readings were one of my favorites:

2 Thessalonians 3: 6-10
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us.  For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.  We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate.  For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.”

This echoed an interesting post my friend Enola Gay recently had on her blog.  Her grandfather sent her a piece called The Truth of the Welfare State, which expresses the frustration many of us feel:

Like most folks in this country, I have a job.  I work, they pay me.  I pay my taxes and the government distributes my taxes as it sees fit.  In order to get that paycheck, in my case, I am required to pass a random urine test (with which I have no problem).

What I do have a problem with is the distribution of my taxes to people who don't have to pass a urine test.

So, here is my question:  Shouldn't one have to pass a urine test to get a welfare check because I have to pass one to earn it for them?

Please understand, I have no problem with helping people get back on their feet.  I do, one the other hand, have a problem with helping someone sitting on their BUTT doing drugs or whatever they want while I work.

Can you imagine how much money each state would save if people had to pass a urine test to get a public assistance check?

I guess we could call the program "URINE OR YOU'RE OUT"!

This all reinforces the Great Divide in this country.  No, it’s not the Haves vs. the Have Nots.  It’s becoming the “Work” vs. the “Work Nots.”

Please note the Bible verse says “The one who is UNWILLING to work.”  Other versions say “shall not work” or “will not work.”  This differs greatly from CANNOT work.

People cannot work for a huge variety of reasons.  Some are too old.  Some are disabled.  Some are too young.  Some are single mothers (I distinguish between women who have been abandoned by their men versus women who crank out babies for profit).  And, especially in this economy, many are simply unable to find work, no matter how hard they try.

This greatly differs from those who WILL NOT work.

There are very few among us in this nation would are not willing to help those who are truly in need.  When we see people who are UNABLE to work, collectively there is a deep-seated instinct to help.  That’s one of the reasons I admire and support such organizations as the Union Gospel Mission, which takes people off the street and “teaches them to fish” rather than merely “giving” them fish (to paraphrase the old saying).  Charities such as this are privately run, efficient, and deserving of praise.

But just as there is a deep-seated instinct among us to help those in need, there is equally a deep-seated resentment among us to have our hard-earned money forcibly removed from our pockets and “redistributed” to those who, quite often, are UNWILING to work.

Giving money to those unwilling to work is cruel.  It destroys their incentive, ruins their work ethic, and supplies a false sense of entitlement.  It rips families apart (since the man is no longer necessary as the critical breadwinner).  It teaches children that age-old virtues are unnecessary.

In short, giving un-earned money may well lead, directly or indirectly, to the destruction of our nation.  It’s a chain-reaction downward spiral, apparently encouraged by our government so it has a built-in cadre of dependent voters willing to keep the entitlements coming if only they vote in the same ol’ politicians.

I would dearly love my girls to inherit a nation worthy of them.  We are endeavoring to teach them that hard work, self-sufficiency (from government assistance), and independence are the tickets toward true freedoms.  But our government is burning these notions down around their ears.

Finding dignity on your hands and knees

I’m going to get hammered for this, but I feel it’s something that needs to be said.

We need to stop looking to the government to bail us out, either individually or collectively, when times get tough. Doing so may save us in the short-term, but in the long-term we’re sacrificing our national and personal independence.

What do I mean by this?

I mean that a refusal to depend on one’s self and one’s circle of support (friends, family, etc.) and instead depending on government largess when times are tough inexorably leads down the road toward socialism and the forced redistribution of wealth and assets. Here’s a harsh but true column (the truth is often harsh) that discusses this further.

At a time when the difference between dependence and independence was literally life and death – such as when the early Pilgrims were struggling to stay alive in a harsh new land – the settlers tried the warm fuzzy strategy of socialism and learned it was a colossal flop that led towards starvation. (Here’s an essay on the subject.) The settlers only succeeded when it was mandated that it was every man for himself. Personal responsibility and private property were embraced, and Plymouth Colony subsequently flourished.

But now, when an unwillingness to work is rewarded and subsidized by a bloated and overspent government, socialism works just fine… until, as Margaret Thatcher so bitingly noted, we run out of other peoples’ money. And when that time comes, we will be left with millions of people who don’t know how to work. That time is rapidly approaching, if not already here.

Over the years this has become a serious annoyance to me – that people are unwilling to work, dammit.

We know some folks who, like so many others in this economy, lost their jobs. Naturally they’ve been diligently searching for new employment commensurate with their impressive experience and credentials. But in the meantime, to keep body and soul together, they’re pulling weeds.

Yes really. For several months, all throughout the summer, these people (in their 50’s) are on their hands and knees in other peoples’ yards and gardens, pulling weeds. “Where’s their dignity?” you might ask. I’ll tell you where their dignity is: it’s in their hands and knees, pulling weeds. These folks aren’t asking for a handout from the government. They are doing whatever it takes to keep aloft in a rotten economy. And I have far more respect for them because they’re willing to do “lowly” work. God bless them.

I know other unemployed people who would be horrified at the thought. Lower myself to pull weeds? Me? With my education, job skills, and experience? I’d rather collect government money and diligently search for a job that really reflects who I am.

Bull.

Look, I know unemployment benefits have saved a lot of peoples’ fannies. But it has also led (for many, not all) toward a careless attitude about employment. I know a man who dillied and dallied and went fishing and watched television for a year and a half while collecting unemployment and half-heartedly looking for a job. You would never catch him pulling weeds. Ever. It was only when his benefits were about to expire that he finally rallied himself and decided to really look for a job. Amazingly, even in this rural area rife with high unemployment, he found full-time work within a couple of weeks. Gee, go figure.

What most people don’t realize is the dangerous trend heralded by this government safety net. The dreaded condition of socialism doesn’t come in one blinding flash of lightening. No, it comes through creeping apathy, from a preference to go fishing rather than weed someone’s garden because, after all, there’s a safety net (unemployment benefits) to catch them. See my point? Government safety nets are fine and good for immediate help, but they also make people careless and indifferent. Creep creep.

My husband and I have been self-employed for seventeen years. We have no safety net beyond what we ourselves install. If our home business fails or reaches the point where it can no longer support us, we have no choice but to seek other sources of income. We cannot look to the government to help us because it won’t.

And therein, I believe, is the genesis of my passion on this topic. When you cannot look to the government to save your fanny, you have no choice but to sharpen your own skills and utilize your own resources in order to save your fanny. And – here’s a thought – most of the time your fanny gets saved through your own efforts. Gee, go figure.

Please don’t misinterpret this to mean I find no compassion for those who cannot work. There is a world of different between cannot and will not. That’s why the classic verse of 2 Thessalonians 3:10 was phrased the way it was: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” It doesn’t say cannot work, it says will not. (Here are other Bible verses that support a work ethic.)

Like the early Pilgrims who discovered that starvation was an excellent motivator, the only thing that will save this nation is if millions of people who are waiting for the government to save them will get off their butts and start weeding gardens. Or waiting tables. Or scrubbing toilets. Or mopping floors. Or delivering pizzas. Or doing whatever it takes to be able to lift their chins with dignity and say, “I refuse to let someone else save my fanny.”

Okay, I’ll get off my soapbox now.

A work ethic and the Bible

In reference to my earlier post on "The Ant and the Grassopper," I'd like to offer a modest selection of suitable Bible references which support a high work ethic.

Proverbs 6:6-11
Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise!

It has no commander,
no overseer or ruler,

yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.

How long will you lie there, you sluggard?
When will you get up from your sleep?

A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-

and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.
________________________

Proverbs 19:15
Laziness brings on deep sleep,
and the shiftless man goes hungry.
________________________

Proverbs 24:30-34
I went past the field of the sluggard,
past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;

thorns had come up everywhere,
the ground was covered with weeds,
and the stone wall was in ruins.

I applied my heart to what I observed
and learned a lesson from what I saw:

A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest-

and poverty will come on you like a bandit
and scarcity like an armed man.
________________________

Proverbs 28:19
He who works his land will have abundant food,
but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty.
________________________


Ecclesiastes 10:18
If a man is lazy, the rafters sag;
if his hands are idle, the house leaks.
________________________

2 Thessalonians 3:6-11
In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies.