Saturday Summary

It occurs to me that I've haven't given an update on my life in a while. Let's see, where to begin.

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, we've had some work issues. Michael's freelance job ended early, and another job he was promised didn't come through. The hours on my job have been cut back as well, so we're rapidly depleting our savings. In mid-September, I got two weeks of work from a new client, and after a week, they took Michael on to help finish the job, which was massive, rushed, and extremely difficult. (We were writing test questions for state assessments--the tests kids have to take to see if they can graduate. That's all I can say about that. The confidentiality requirements are intense, so I can't even tell you the state.)

The job did not pay as well as I'd like, but it was work at a time we desperately needed it, so I was grateful. The client hopes to use me again, so that's a good thing too.

Even with that job, however, we are still on a pace to run short of funds by late December. I've told Michael that as a freelance writer, I have discovered that my comfort zone is about three months. Once we get a writing assignment, it takes time to finish, and then once we invoice, it can take anywhere from two to twelve weeks to get paid. So that's where the three-months' comfort zone comes in. As long as I can see enough income coming in (from completed jobs or jobs that we've actually started) to take us through the next three months, I stay fairly calm. If we get in a tighter scenario than that, the stress mounts with every day.

Well, as soon as we entered October, we were in that "less-than-three-months red zone." I've been praying and asking for prayers and trying to manage my anxiety, but it's been difficult. One thing that added to the worry is that the assessment job, while welcome, was an example of working very hard at a pay rate that could not possibly sustain us if we continued it full-time. Many of the job leads that Michael was following up (because they were all he could find) were equally low paying, so I had visions of us working incredibly long hours and still coming up short.

Wednesday, I rebelled. I finished my work for the day by early afternoon. Then, instead of doing something related to work or job hunting, I sat down and wrote a short story, my first in about three months. Once I finished that, I cooked chicken and zucchini for dinner, while listening to the iPod and dancing around the kitchen. It felt good to blow off the stress and say to heck with the nonstop discipline and practicality. I felt like I was taking my life back.

Thursday morning in the shower, I told God, "You know what we need much better than I do, but I think that we need Michael to get a job that pays at least $X,000 by the end of the year."

If you've read this blog for any length of time, I'll bet you can guess where this is going. Yep, that's right. Thursday afternoon, someone contacted him about a job that will pay somewhere in the vicinity of $x,000. The work is due early November. We've worked for this company before, and if past patterns hold true, he should be paid by the end of the year.

It's not a done deal yet. Michael has to submit a formal bid and get approved. Then he'll be given a contract to sign. But I think this is going to work out, so I can relax for another month. LOL

P.S. In all fairness, I should tell you that there are plenty of times I ask God for specific things and they don't happen. That actually tends to be the norm. But I do get these incredible answers often enough that it encourages me to keep on asking.

P.P.S. Pray that the paperwork goes through ok, and he does actually get this job.