Surprise Work

Hey Raven,

I promise I will get back to talking about all the things that make life worth living (in my opinion) very soon. But not tonight. At least, not exactly. Tonight I got a text saying I have to be to work at 6:45 tomorrow morning so I need to be in bed asleep... about 20 minutes ago.

But I don't want to get punished! Or miss a day blogging at you. So I thought I would tell you I will get back to the posts about my hobbies and passions next time, but tonight I will tell you something you probably already know. I love my job. I love both of my jobs, in fact. But the one where I get to look after, talk with, and just generally hang out with two wonderful kids is my chief job. And my chief joy outside of you and our friends.

We differ a lot in how we see children, but you're always willing to listen to me effuse on the subject of my charges, whom I love dearly. So yeah, I may have to go to be at work at 6:45, but I can say with a smile on my face that I will have a great time. How many other people do we know that could say that about their jobs? Especially if the job required them to be awake at 6am or earlier?

Now I would say that there probably aren't any friends in our circle that have a job like that. But I would also say there wouldn't be any friends in our circle like that even if they had my job. I love being around kids in a way I didn't realize was so out of the norm until I graduated from college and started doing more of it and talking to friends about how happy and fulfilled it made me.

I'm thinking about it especially today after I met with a 4th grade boy who I have been tutoring since the beginning of his 2nd grade year. I wasn't able to come back to start up my work with him until this week because of graduate schools, life, and other boring things, but the minute he saw me his eyes lit up and he had a big grin on his face. Totally worth any inconvenience to my still crazy busy schedule.

I loved your post and your reminder to cherish the little things and the seemingly insignificant, silly days. I loved sharing that day with you and I look forward to many more in the future. I wanted to add days like today to that list of things to appreciate: the days you feel at peace or at purpose with the world. A reminder that I am on the right track, doing work I love, for people I love was what I needed to put my mind at peace and give me a gentle nudge towards my purpose in life.

So - back to the hobbies and passions posts soon. Right now, to sleep. See you in a minute and I look forward to hearing from you tomorrow.

- Owl