How Many Remotes Does It Take?

In a world of dual incomes, we had only one. A new home, decent vehicles and a housefull of kids.

What if?

What could I do, just in case?

I had an accounting degree, so I put it to work.

After about 12 years, I was growing sick of corporate America.

At the height of my influence in the world of industrial supply........I met with a terrible boss. My life became miserable, in a way that could not be left behind at the office.

At dinner, hubby strikes the table, declaring. " either you fix this or I will, my wife doesn't deserve to come home and cry at the supper table".........I knew he meant it.........

I moved from wholesale to retail, from farmland to the mountains.

My ascension is quick and profitable. It seems that this is my calling ( it is not)........I make loads of money. I move from store to store, climbing the corporate ladder quickly.........I am a star ( or am I).........

There is more to learn.

A new town.....a new life.......a new tomorrow ( looking back, all tomorrows are new).....a new chance.

Our children, now in junior high school, are resistant...........my husband tells them, ' we will not hold your mother back"......this is her moment...........this is her chance.......in time, you will be given yours........

I insist, to the "home office" that the school year not be disrupted..........we move, accordingly.......my children prove to be troopers...........they pass from teens to young women.

I could not have achieved what I did, with kids of a lesser caliber...........I owe my success as a retail manager to my daughters.

I am driven......

There is a goal, and I am on a mission.

A brand new store..........brand new........it is on my back.....

My hubby is a techno gadget victim. If it is new, he wants it. He gets it and he sets it up. He thrives on buying speciality tools and wiring. Usually, he gives me operating instructions. This time, I was not available. We made our move and then he was off to a power plant in Atlanta. I had never turned the tv on or off. The kids were in charge!

I have no time, no energy to argue. I have even less interest.

Yeah, ok, did you eat, whatever, ok, how much, bring me a check, how much, ok, yeah sure.......become my bywords..

I AM this overworked............15-18 hour days, 7 days a week, for 8-10 weeks, without end.........I live to work.......( do you see know, why this is on the backs of my children)

FINALLY, the store is stocked, opened, running.......I am awarded the designation, of within the company of having the ONLY store in history that operates in the black within the first 3 months of business.......

I can breathe..........

My children go to school.

I wake up whenever I do,.........how long has it been since I last did this.......

the silence is too much, I am used to people calling my name, hundreds of times daily.

I grab the remote.........then a second one, and a third.....(tv, stereo, vcr, dvd, am, fm, record, replay, pause, direct..........I am so lost)

I push button after button, after button...................ALL day long..........

The girls come home from school.......telling me of their high school day. They ask of mine, which has not been one of interest.

Finally, I ask them..........

How many remotes does it take to turn the tv on?

My daughters would find their own successes........

They would never let me forget "the tv incident".  For years, they would program my phones, set my alarms, burn my CD's.........all I had to say, was I do not know how.