Day One: A Paycheck.

It's Day One of A Month of Thanks.  And as the title says, today, I'm thankful for a paycheck.

We all do it - complain about our jobs, our paychecks, our bosses, our parking spaces, our coworkers...the list goes on.  Even the very idea behind Dinosaur Mommy stems from a distaste of a job that I don't really want to get up and go to five days out of the week, but I do it.  Of course, the dislike of my job comes from wanting to be at home with G, not because I straight up hate my job. My passion lies in giving my all to being a stay-at-home mom and wife, rather than giving forty hours of my week to corporate America.  If you haven't already, I would encourage you to read Dino Who?  That will give you the story behind the story.  Now, moving right along to my Month of Thanks. 

I work for a major university - I'm not going to tell you which one, because I don't want any psycho stalkers.  I've worked here for over three years.  I've been in my current position going on three months.  Next to teaching preschool, it's probably one of the best jobs I've ever held.  I have been more than blessed working here.  The parking sucks, but I get great benefits, a steady paycheck, paid leave and vacation, and my coworkers are fantastic. 

Not only am I thankful for my own job, but I think I'm even more grateful for my husband's.  When we first got married, my then current position as director's assistant in a preschool came to an end.  M was working a dead end job at a civil engineering company to support us, while I was steadily searching for work.  I eventually landed a job working as a Chiropractic Assistant, only to be laid off two short months later.  Much to our dismay, two months after I was laid off, M was let go as well.  There we were - newlyweds and jobless.  But all you need is love, right? 

One thing led to another, and I landed a part-time secretary position here at the university.  So, we picked up and moved three hours north to the area where I grew up.  M was still unemployed at the time, but within a month of us settling into our new town, he was hired on with a pretty major company in the state of Florida.  After almost a year with that company, he decided to go back to school, and was able to work part time.  In the midst of the chaos, we got pregnant.  After G was born, M was nearing graduation and then things got bad.  Although he was working part time, he was only getting about ten hours a week.  My paycheck was the bread and butter, and we weren't getting much bread after rent, utilities and baby needs were met.  While bills piled up, our marriage slowly broke down - but that's another topic of conversation.  In January of this year, after nine long and exhausting months, M landed a job.  Thank you, Lord!  A couple months later, he was promoted to a position that he now loves and is able to use the schooling that he worked so hard to obtain.  I'm proud of him. 

With the job market in such shambles today, and so many people unemployed, I hate hearing people complain about their jobs.  I honestly want to slap them.  I know what it's like to have two dollars in your checking account on a Tuesday, and pay day isn't until Friday.  Or to be so completely overwhelmed with frustration that you can't even cry or pray or even curse correctly.  Saying it's hard doesn't seem to cut it.  There were days (more often than not) where I was completely numb with the stress.  Looking back, I know those hardships were just part of our journey.  We would not appreciate the financial stability we have today, had we not experienced such a drought in the years prior.  Now, when I've had a crappy day, or I'm having a pity party about something I don't like at work...God has a funny way of snapping me back into reality - of reminding me where I came from. 

So, next time you're complaining about the long walk from the parking lot, or the obnoxious co-worker who never smiles...just be thankful that you've got that job, and that car to park in the lot.  Because in the bigger picture, our "problems" are usually not so problematic after all - there is always someone who's worse off than us - always. 

Be thankful for that paycheck.