Wednesday, December 13, 2006

I love my husband

I have the sweetest, most supportive husband in the world.

We have been reviewing our finances lately, and it is pretty much a
given that I need to generate some income. Hubby makes about 3/4 of
what we need to maintain our lifestyle. It's not that we couldn't cut
back, because we could, a bit. I have been cutting back for so many
years, though, that I find that eventually, stuff just needs to get
done. Our poor truck is 17 years old. It probably has a few years
left in it, but I don't want to gamble on exactly how many. Same with
our 40-year-old furnace. One day, that thing is just going to stop
working, and if that were this winter, we would have a real problem
on our hands.

So, I need to make some money. It shouldn't be that hard. I am a
healthy, educated, intelligent, competent female living in a booming
economy in the wealthiest province in the best country in the world,
where the newspapers are literally overflowing with job postings, and
I can't seem to find anything that is just right.

Hubby and I had a long heart-to-heart over it last night, and he
commented that whatever ideas we come up with, the sacrifice seems
too great. If I work at night or on the weekend, we would miss the
family time. If I do childcare or a home-based business, the toll on
me is quite severe. If I work during the day, the children would
suffer, or dd would have to go to school, and she is doing soooo
wonderful lately that he doesn't even want to think about that. I was
totally, completely, genuinely touched. I felt like all the work I do
here for our children and for our family was being recognized and
honoured. I have always believed that I'm doing something important,
but to have it acknowledged like that got me all choked up.

So, I am still looking for income-generating options that don't
involve me actually becoming an employee. I intend to find a roommate
to rent out our spare room, and I'd like to teach ESL to tutor
English to International students. I might do some part-time child care.

I'm open to ideas.