This Little Life Of Mine
My love for little houses and living in one has been the topic of a few of my blogs. Simplifying my life and downsizing everything has been better than I ever thought it could be. Once upon a time I lived in the city, worked in the city, punched a time clock, paid a mortgage and worried about keeping it all going. It was like being on a treadmill that just kept increasing speed, with no way to get off.
As I lay in bed each night, my mind was racing about what I still had to do and all the things that could go wrong. The stress was affecting me so much. Sometimes I would dream about working and I would wake up exhausted. It just never seemed to end. Even on the weekends, there was the dread of having to go back to work to put a damper on things. Above all, there was a 30 year mortgage over my head which kept me tied to work. It just never seemed to end and it was all about just a paycheck or two away from crashing down on me.
Not to mention the fact that I hate mornings and I hate having to wake up early. I am just a born night owl. I love to stay up late, reading, sewing and piddling around. Having to wake up early in the morning is depressing to say the least. Seriously, when I have to wake up early, I feel disoriented and depressed. But at night I am energetic and creative.
How different life is now. I have no mortgage over my head and I have no time clock dictating my life. I have utter security in knowing that my home and the land it is on is paid off, our 3 vehicles are paid off, we have no credit cards and no outstanding debt. I am free to wake up when I please and to go to sleep when I please. I can go and do fun things without worrying that I will be too tired to go to work the next day.
I stay up as late as I like and I can take a nap whenever I please. I can pursue the things in life that I have always wanted to do like writing for a living. I do a variety of writing jobs as well as other freelance jobs. I work with my fiancé’s family in the fall harvesting pecans to make money for Christmas. I can go alligator hunting with my fiancé in the summer and take pictures. Most of all, I can go and stay with my elderly grandmother who lives alone and spend time with her and help her out.
Heck, I even help my fiancé and his brother with roofing jobs every once in a while.We have friends and family who ask us because we do a good job and charge a fair price, especially after hurricane season. It's not exactly easy work and it isn't exactly fun but it pays good and I have no fear of heights, so up the ladder I go.
Perhaps you may see that as menial labor and a step down for someone who has a college education and once taught school. Someone once asked my brother in law if he paid me as much money to do roofing with him as I would make teaching. With his typical humor and that trace of Cajun accent, he replied "Is she gonna teach them shingles to read?"
I just laughed and climbed the ladder, because I would rather be climbing the ladder to do a roof with two of my favorite guys than trying to climb the corporate ladder any old day.
