Cleaning up the poop of others has become one of my favorite things to do in 2014.
2013 was full of grasping at straws; taking every job that came my way trying to make ends meet at the sole income provider for my household. I spent the year moving away from the 9-5 and towards the projects I loved. Those projects grew and grew until I was almost ready to leave my last real actually-employee-of-a-company job. Given my responsibilities, I was too scared to take that leap because of the financial insecurity of entrepreneurial life.
Then that job laid me off on January 7 due to budget issues. So much for that "security" of the steady paycheck. Ready or not, here comes the life you think you probably want... hopefully?
My own businesses weren't at the place yet to support us completely, so I needed something else to fill the money gap. Enough was enough of trying traditional office jobs in my field putting my degree to work. Time to find something I want to do.
That's when I reverted back to the first job I ever had -- babysitter. I now get paid at a rate better than any salary I ever had to play Candy Land.
Today I spent my morning chasing two brothers around in circles laughing our heads off (a little bit of poop involved with that visit, but thankfully not while running), mid-day walking dogs (actually no poop today, but that's of course a regular part of that new job), and the afternoon caring for a baby who is the sweetest ball of smiles and giggles you'll ever meet (you guessed it -- he poops a lot, and I clean it). And I scooped my own cats' poop from the litter box before any of that started.
The last few weeks of this new life have been the best time I've had in my career. My face hurts from smiling. I get to put a tiny Maltese into his tiny jacket and walk him around the block until he needs to be carried because he gets stubborn about having to walk so much. And go play tug-of-war with a Husky right after that. The boys I care for in the mornings are so creative and we go wild on the playground and jumping on the bed, and play some kind of make-believe every time I'm there. And this four-month-old baby in the afternoons is the new light of my life, I can't even tell you how sweet he is.
There is nothing like caring for others to take you out of your own head. I cannot bring myself to worry about making rent when I am Spiderman's sidekick (who knew he had one and that she looks just like me?). All my worrying is out the window and there is no shortage of parents wanting some help with their kids. I make my own schedule and give myself plenty of time to work from home on my own projects. This year that started with a lay-off is already turning out to be a happy one.
Vive la poop.