Wednesday February 17 2016  WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY

The house is quiet.  I am alone…Sounds like the opening lines for a sinister mystery novel.  However, a mystery novel it is not.  Alas, it is only my Wednesday blog.

I decided to tackle my blog early this morning so as to clear my day from anything which will distract me later.  Remember, this is my day to plunge in and work without interruption.  Dave is at the barber.  He then will go and exercise, come home and shower, eat lunch (which is already prepared), and leave again for his afternoon session that takes place each week.  And WALA!  My day is quiet.  And again, I find myself hoping that God is not laughing at that comment!

So, what is happening today?  I plan to continue culling my office.  It is actually a very selfish endeavor due to the fact that I need my work-space back.  I need my file drawers emptied so I can start organizing my manuscripts and poetry.  I need my computer accessible so I can work in my office without all the clutter.  I work much better in neat, organized surroundings.  And that hasn’t happened for quite a while.

So here goes.  Now, what to write?  I asked my husband that very same question this morning as we talked in the twilight of our bedroom, snuggled under the warm blankets. (It is so hard to get up in a cold room on these frosty mornings).   He came up with two topics.  The first topic was “The joy of working” and the second topic I can’t remember at the moment.  So maybe I’ll go with the “Joy of working”. 

The joy of working sounds like an erroneous topic for a new retiree to write about.  And I actually have no idea what will twinkle out of this keyboard as my fingers race across the keys.  Which reminds me, when I was entering my first year of high school (10^th grade for me) we were offered one elective the first semester.  I was determined to be in the first semester of typing.  More than anything I wanted to learn to type.  I was saving my babysitting money to purchase an IBM SELECTRIC TYPEWRITER, the kind with the little round ball with all the letters on it.  As you typed, the ball would rotate and the correct letter would be imprinted onto the page.  That was the day of ink ribbons.  And it was really sophisticated!  The ribbon had a black strip AND A WHITE STRIP so you could make corrections!  How’s that for technology?

If I didn’t learn to type, I would not be able to submit TYPED HOMEWORK REPORTS.  That seemed like a very impressive thing to do.  The type writer cost about $200 dollars and that was a small fortune for me.  My mom paid upfront for a big portion of it and I worked faithfully to pay back every single dollar.  I knew that much money was a fortune to her too.  Well, I did get into the typing class that first semester and from then on all my homework was typed.  For some reason typing came easily for me.  I was very exacting as I learned each finger movement.  I practiced and practiced until it was imprinted as a permanent pattern in my brain.  Now, did I make mistakes?  You bet I did.  That white ribbon was put to good use!  Do I still make mistakes?  You bet I do.  And sometimes it take two or three times of proof reading to even see them.

And what does my typewriter have to do with the joy of working?  For me, it meant if I had a job that required typing, it was not really work to me.  I simply loved to type. I have loved it ever since.  I am so thankful that my arthritic fingers still allow me to type without problems.  I cannot bend some of my fingers, but with hand movements all the keys are accessible, and I can still type rather swiftly.  The hand surgeon I see has suggested on a couple of visits that I have my finger joints fused to eliminate the pain in my fingers.  I would rather type and have pain, than not type, and have no pain.  It is not usually painful to type.  With other tasks I am not quite so fortunate.  But I can still type and that is what matters to me.

I believe one fact that denotes “JOY IN WORKING” is having the proper tools with which to work.  There is nothing more frustrating than having a job assigned to you that needs certain items or tools to complete and not having the correct implements in which to carry out the job.  Whether it be cooking, writing, photography, phone work, building, medical, cleaning, or any other kind of work, if you don’t have what you need to do the job, you are prone to be more frustrated than joyful.  There is not much joy when the tools, time, or space is not available.  Especially when the employer is expecting you do a top notch job, regardless of your limitations.  That can even translate into the category of working with computers.  When there are constant technical failures, the lack of your accessibility to the internet can cause great distress.  If you want to know the opposite of joy, I would call it COMPUTER FAILURE when a deadline is looming.  Deadlines don’t wait.  Bosses don’t wait.  There is absolutely no joy in working on that day.  Dave has had several frustrating such days when computer or phone malfunction threw off all schedules and timelines.  Not a good day.  Not a good evening.  Not much joy.

I suppose “Joy in working” could be summarized as being different for everyone.  When it comes down to the nitty   gritty, I suppose the greatest joy in working would be to have employment.  No matter what kind of job, how dirty, how grueling, whether or not you have the proper tools, to simply have a job, might result in the greatest joy of all.  Especially in the economy we live in.  Whether it is working for a wage, or having your own business that supports you, just the simple fact of working is joyful to many.  Even if it is not the job of your dreams, being able to eat and pay for living expenses can be the stepping stone to the next level.  And perhaps the most important aspect of having joy in working is the attitude you choose.  Even having a less than desirable job, if you have a good attitude, can create joy in your life and give you hope for the future.  Being content in the moment can create joy in whatever you are doing.  And you may even find your joy is contagious to others.

I find great joy in my work here at home.  Perhaps others do not see what I do as work.  Perhaps the definition of work has a new meaning for me now that I don’t compete in the market place and do not go out into the big bad world.  I have decided that what I define as my work, is that which must absolutely be done before I can do what I really want to do.  I would prefer to sleep in everyday and wake up without an alarm, whether it be 4:30 a.m. or 6:30 a.m.  I would prefer to put my energy toward organizing all my writing and selecting what I want to go into my first book (which I hope to finish by December), I would love to work on my own photo collection from my life and trip, and I would prefer to cook.  Yes, cook.  Cooking is not work for me unless I have deadlines, and time constraints.  I would love to spend more time with Dave and have our grandsons over for sleepovers two or three weekends a month.  However, I have other demands calling at the present.  And, I would love to travel more, visit more people, have more company, throw more parties, join a book club, go to the senior center and get to know all the old people.  I would love to volunteer at church and build stronger relationships with my friends.  I would like to read more and get into bed earlier!  So much I would love to do.  And someday, I hope to be able to do all the above I mentioned.   Oh, yes, one thing I forgot to mention.  I would love to finish watching my Christmas movies.

But now is the time to continue working on decluttering, throwing away, giving away, and putting to good use that which I keep.  It is time to organize the sale of all my equipment.  It is the time to let go.  It is the time to finally build the library shelves needed to house the remainder of my book collection.  Books bring me joy.  Some I will donate, some I will cherish and eventually read.  Someone else can discard them when I am gone.  But the rest of everything else I have collected over the years I choose to touch and remember one last time.  And I have chosen to experience great joy as I go about my work.  It will be about memories and it will take me a while to do.  Sometimes I view it as a daunting job but I refuse to become discouraged or overwhelmed.  It must be done moment by moment, in my precious present.  And I refuse to allow the disharmony of my past belongings and possessions rob me of even one moment of experiencing joy as I work.  And in the meantime, I’ll fit some of my little pleasures in-between (like having my grandsons come for a sleepover).

Do you receive joy in the work you do?  Stop and ask yourself that question.  If not, why not?  Life is too short to live without joy.  My joy comes from the Lord and the precious moments we share together each morning, regardless how brief.  I am learning to set limits on myself in some areas because the day is never long enough to accomplish all I would like to do.  But believe me, whatever I am doing, I choose to do it with a joyful heart and attitude.  And I think that is my secret for having joy as I work, regardless the task.  Whatever I do, I do it as unto the Lord.

WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY

By Kathleen Martens

February 17, 2016

Each morning when dawn breaks

My time with the Lord begins.

I ask him always to forgive

Any and all of my sins.

I begin my day with joy in my heart,

Basking a short time with my Lord.

Because my moments are ever so precious

Each second with God I hoard.

And then my day begins with relish

And I look at my calendar wall,

To see what beckons ensuing hours

So I make sure to do it all.

Two special days I set aside

So I am not bombarded by the world.

There are too many appointments

That seem continuously hurled.

My WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY is one such day

I set aside to work all alone.

No appointments or visits with friends,

Not even on the phone.

Except for the greatest Friend in my life,

The Lord who sits on His throne.

And  I work throughout my day

Knowing I’m never alone.

Such great plans and expectations

I relish with sweet abandon.

And there is such joy when I work

With such a great companion.

I pray blessings on all of you and wish you much joy as you go about your awesome day.  May God protect and watch over you.

Just the fact that I awakened this morning, makes my day awesome!

P.S.  I receive much joy writing my blog each day.  Thanks to all of you who read it.