Pacing Myself

Just completed day thirty four of my work week. I woke up before seven this morning, by now force of habit but stayed in bed until noon alternating between the news and burrowing under the pillows.

It's near the end of the month so I got up, put on my "Yard Attire" and putted up to the front of the subdivision to cut the grass in order to get that sixty dollar check on the last day of the month.

The above picture was when cutting at the cemetery where my folks are buried but my outfit's always the same...shorts, flip flops and a tank top with a bathing suit top on underneath. The tank top comes off and serves as a towel to wipe sweat and grime off my face.

I finished in record time, two hours. The decking on my Johnny Dear broke just as I got through cutting and had to put it back on with only one of the two bolts remaining to park it by the curb. Got out my trusty friend, Mr. Weed Eater and cut both culverts on either side of the road. The line ran out with about two feet of tall grass left to go so just pulled the rest by hand.

Putted back to the house with the decking scraping and parked my Dear Johnny back in the garage. Ate some left overs from last night's dinner, drank a cold Co-Cola for some "Pep in my step" and headed for the shower, covered from head to toe with dirt and grass clippings.

Ironed a work shirt, pulled on my skirt and put on some make up in under ten minutes. Left the house at four twenty and clocked in at four thirty.

Walked out the door at eleven and Zach picked me up by the curb out back of the restaurant. While waiting I checked my phone for messages. The airport job had sent a text wanting to know if I could work a double shift on Saturday instead of just my scheduled day shift?

For Pete's sake!!

Then I thought about how I was only three hundred dollars short on our mortgage payment due on Monday. I sent them back a text:

"Still at Mama Lucias's now but would love nothing more than to work a double tomorrow."

I had to MAKE myself hit "Send".

It will mean almost five hundred dollars or maybe even more and simply couldn't turn it down.

My back and "Weed Eating" arm are killing me but my airport uniform is ready to go and all I have to do is swap out my Mama's  duffel bag stuff into my clear plastic airport bag and will be good to go come seven o'clock Saturday morning.

How much longer I can work like this is a mystery to even me but know I can and WILL do it. I've never made the kind of money I've been making these past two weeks and the thrill of finally getting to the point of almost being sort of caught up and able to see can soon even be getting ahead makes my mind race and me feel dizzy. Well maybe the dizzy part is sheer exhaustion but in a good way.

I'm almost through with The Alchemist, and came across this passage recently.

"This is what we call love, the boy said, seeing that the wind was close to granting what he requested. When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into the wind. As long as the wind helps, of course."

I am so loved and blessed by God, family, friends, employers and even strangers. They are my wind and all conspire in helping me.

So I'll tumble into bed, wake up and work a double shift. Then when I finally drag myself back to that MARTA train late Saturday night will have covered a mortgage payment.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, so just call me "The Bionic Woman".

I GOT THIS!!!

Til next time, a truly blessed COTTON