If We All Start at the Same Time…

Have you ever been stuck in a catch 22? Between a rock and a hard place? Sure you have. The reason there’s so many clichés to explain that situation is because we all get stuck in that place. Case in point, have the job to get the money to do the thing you want, but because of the job, you don’t have the time? Or, if you didn’t have the job and had the time, then you wouldn’t have the money you needed?

Yeah. That. Is exactly what we deal with as adults. Because they lied to us when we were children and told us being grown up was awesome. I learned about opportunity costs when I was in fourth grade, but they never told us that in real life these choices actually can suck.  

This is where I am. I love my job and what I do each day and I love the fact that it allows me to reach certain goals (saving for a house, and college, and a pension for retirement, and extracurricular activities for the boys), but it keeps me from writing as much as I would like. Of course, if I had all the time in the world to write, I wouldn’t have the job (and any of the luxuries it brings) and then I also wouldn’t have anything to write about because I wouldn’t have the cable and the interwebs and all the things that become blog fodder.

Can someone tell me why there’s not a rational compromise out there for this type of thing? Seriously? Again, I think we’re all dealing with this type of shit. I think of all the moms out there who want to stay home with the kids, but also want to work some outside the home, and I think, “Why not? Why can’t we support moms who want to work part time and interact in the adult world and keep their skills sharp but also want to be readily available for their children?” Why isn’t this a no-brainer?

So, today, when I was sent notice of a freelance gig that is right up my alley and pays, it really aggravated me in a way that can only be expressed in a category four toddler tantrum. Because, of course, I want to be paid for my writing (that type of external validation is the holy grail of all writers out there), but I cannot, at this time—between work and the boys’ activities and J’s schedule and everything else I’ve got going on—commit to something like that. A paid gig is a big responsibility, and one I wouldn’t take lightly. And since I can reasonably say I can see a time where life might intervene, I can’t make the commitment.

As I was explaining this to J this morning, I pretended to kick the couch in frustration. He laughed, of course, because I was being amusing. And because I’m clumsy and nearly fell down. And because I did it barefooted. But, mostly because I’m amusing. And then I told him that I think the world would be much better if it were socially acceptable for adults to throw the occasional temper tantrum; just like toddlers do.

This kid is on to something... Photo Source

 Think of it: You get so frustrated and there’s not an acceptable venue for you to vent this frustration. Sure, you can work, or clean, or run, or something productive. Sometimes, though, you don’t want to be productive. Sometimes you just want to punch the couch cushions and yell for about five minutes, and then calm down and go about your day. What’s the harm in that?

Why are we denying ourselves, people? I think the toddlers have been on to something all along, and here we are, trying to curb their behavior and refusing to give in ourselves. Maybe we’ve been going about this whole thing the wrong way.

Of course, I’m not advocating that we hurt one another or harm property. I’m just advocating some good, old fashioned, fit throwing. Can you imagine how much easier life would be if we could just get this shit out and over with? No more road rage, no more passive-aggressive crap with your boss or your spouse, no more bottling shit up until you explode.

All of this to say, I think we should start throwing the occasional fit. A good, old temper tantrum might do the world some good. And, if we coordinate this, and all start doing it at the same time, none of us will stick out. We’ll be changing society as a whole, and the world may very well thank us! Who’s with me?