Two Jobs

I have two jobs. No, they are not your typical desk jobs. They are both physically demanding and drain my energy just enough to want to crawl in a hole and kermit death upon myself. No, that wasn't a typo. I added Kermit the frog in this because he's ducking awesome, so sue me. 

Job #1 involves a bakery, but I don't bake anything. I'm like the busboy who does the stuff no one wants to do. That includes the heavy lifting, stocking, moving pallets around etc. Keep in mind, I am a young female who is barely 5ft and only weighs about 120lbs. 

Job #2 is at a warehouse, so it also requires heavy lifting and pushing carts that weigh about 40-50lbs each. 

#1 is full time and pays $18 an hour, #2 is part time and pays $20-$22 an hour. I have two days off straight in a row unless I pick up an extra shift from #2. 

I don't eat or sleep as much as I should, but I have been working on the eating more part due to a family history of diabetes and high blood pressure. 

Why do I have two jobs you ask? Simple. I'm working now so that I don't have to later.

...Ok, well technically its a bit more than that.

The head of my household decided to just up and leave the day after New Years back in 2022. Or was it 2021? I don't remember, its been too long and I don't care for that person whatsoever anymore. 

Anyways, after they left, my family was left in shambles and we were almost going to have to split into 3 groups at one point because the house we were living in at the time was falling apart. Literally. The roof was caving in my room and there was a gas leak that was so dangerous the city government had to shut off our power in fear that an explosion would have set off and killed us all. That was until some of the adults, including myself, decided to step up to the plate and become the breadwinners. We're in a better position now. We aren't rich or anything, but we're comfortable with the new house we abide in to this day.

But I got tired of living paycheck to paycheck. Having to go a couple of days for my bank account to be in the negatives until I got my next check. That's when I got the second job, and in two months I will be celebrating my first year of having worked two jobs simultaneously. 

It wasn't easy. There were times I cried myself to sleep because I didn't want my family knowing the stress I was undergoing. I loved them too much for them to see me in any pain because if I suffered, so did they. I wanted many times to walk out on the job because of the annoying coworkers who I picked up after or the nagging manager who criticized my work ethic because I wasn't up to their standards. But I didn't. And I take pride in that almost every day.

I tell myself I'm doing something that not everyone can do. I tell myself I'm not lazy or unproductive like some other people I know. I tell myself its ok that I had to take a break from college, and I have enough time in the world to go back since I'm barely in my twenties. 

I tell myself that this won't be forever and that I can save up enough money for the things that I want in the future.

I tell myself that I will be a homeowner.

I tell myself that I will be an artist and animate my own hit tv show/movie one day. 

Today's not the day though.

Not yet, at least.