The Honeymoon is Over

It was already over in the last blog entry, I suppose. OF COURSE the feelings are still there and Chris and I are very happily married. But the reality of jobs has really set in.

Chris started a part time job in the northwest burbs a few weeks ago. I started teaching for the fall school year this week. Granted, I have been working for most of the summer anyway, but it is a little different teaching a full load at the beginning of a school year. I have to say, though, I am psyched to be at the same school for a second year. FINALLY!

One thing that sucks is that Chris and I have different schedules now. Monday through Thursday, Chris works evenings, which means I only see him in the morning when I wake up and for about 2 hours before I fall asleep at night. It could be a lot worse, and I know we'll get used to it, but it's taking a while. I know it's especially hard for him since he would much rather be working full time during the day. But he's working hard and searching hard for a new job, and hasn't given up trying. He's got some patience, that's for sure. Hmmm, maybe that's one of the reasons I married him...

So yeah, not the end of the world. Just a setback that really isn't holding us back much. I just know it's gotta suck doing a job that doesn't involve using your college degree and isn't very thrilling. Work isn't fun anyway. Yeah, I like teaching. Sometimes I even love it. However, it does vacuum up huge swaths of my life, and there are times I really wish I had a 9-5 job that was truly over at 5. I'm just happy both of us are working at all. Sure, we're years away from having all of the things we want, but at least we have one thing taken care of--finding someone to spend the rest of our lives with. I mean, some people have everything--job, house, car, garden, pets, vacations, plasma TV, thrilling sex life, stellar workout program--but they are still not satisfied because they haven't found someone to love. Man, does that sound hokey...really, really lame.

But that doesn't make it less true. I just have to keep telling myself, and keep telling Chris, "We're damn lucky." So we had better appreciate it. Hell, we're alive! Life rocks.