Ups and Downs

“Remember, a dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live one to swim upstream.” W.C. Fields

Yesterday, I met with my friend Kathy at Common Grounds, a beloved local coffee house. We managed to snag the last empty table. I always wonder who all these people are who have time in the middle of the day to hang around the coffee house. Kathy reminds me that they are people just like us, who work at home and find somewhere else to meet so they don’t have to clean house.

Kathy was feeling down because a big contract she was counting on next year is suddenly no longer a sure thing. When I got home, I found a message from a new client (one that Kathy, ironically, recommended) about a possibility for a big contract for me next year. I was elated. Of course, mine is also not a sure thing.

That’s the way things go when you are self-employed: one day you’re up and the next you’re down. You have to learn not to get carried away with either option. If you lose a client, you have to find another one. If you get a big contract, you have to save some of the income to tide you over the bad times. You really never know what’s going to happen next.

Some people just can’t deal with all the ups and downs. They need the stability of a regular paycheck and the structure of regular hours. That would make me crazy, but I know that my life would make other people crazy. The great thing about this life is that you get to choose what you want and then create it.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved