I have recently been impressed by numerous people in my life and the things they put up with at work. Like my mother in law dealing with a boss who makes The Devil Wears Prada look like a walk in the park. Or my brother in law Travis who has to be tied to his phone constantly and deals with things like employees getting in fist fights with clients. Then there's my dad putting in crazy hours, working till 3:00 am, making propane bombs.
There are also more emotionally draining jobs like my mom's. She is pretty much the mother of 500 children, mediating arguments, helping with trama and behavior issues, and putting on school-wide activities. And Nate's dad who is on the front lines of crime and tragedy in our community. Not to mention my sister Amanda who helps keep people alive all night long at the hospital before coming home to a 9 month old baby.
Why do we do it? Why do we put ourselves in such uncomfortable situations? That's right, cold hard cash. Life's necessary evil. But that can't be the only reason, right?... So I pose the question to anyone who reads this blog, what is it about hard work that makes it worth it or that fulfills us?
Maybe I'm just needing a little encouragement and that's why I'm writing this. I'm so burned out. One of the therapists at work came up to me today and asked if I was okay. She said that I seemed kind of drained or sad. That kind of threw me because I thought I had been fairly upbeat and awake during staff meeting.
You know, I think work takes it's toll but in the end it has to be worth it, right? Nate just said it was time for bed so I guess I better get going. Ciao for now!
3 comments:
For me, work is my contribution to the goals my little family has. I want to be sure the essentials are covered in respect to those I love so dearly. Jobs are simply a part of life. And maybe, just maybe, it's the opposition to our sweet home life. It doesn't always have to be, but nothing feels better than coming home after a long shift. That almost makes any crappy job worth it.
Here here, Dubya D. :)I love that comment. I'm glad you bring up this issue, Em. It's been on our minds as well. I just feel sad that you're feeling burned out. It sounds like I need to come down and play mommy for YOU. You just keep helping everyone around you-- I think it's time Emmy gets her TLC. :)
Agreed. It's interesting to think about the wide variety of work that we all engage in.
For most of us it's primarily for money (which isn't a bad thing, we need to learn how to grow what has been given us), but work offers other less obvious benefits to our lives. One being the principle of opposites - could we really enjoy leisure, rest or vacation if we didn't really know what hard work was? And most jobs benefit others in someway besides ourselves, reinforcing our self-worth as "contributing members of society."
More importantly, work generally teaches us to how to be agents unto ourselves - how to act and not be acted upon, especially when we are not on the clock. Example, as has already been mentioned, Emmy takes work well beyond her 9-5 job (family, friends, young womens, etc). She's a great example to me of how to be anxiously engaged in a good cause.
And finally, I love my man's comment about home sweet home. I love the refuge after a long hard day.
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