Sunday, January 09, 2011

Less Is Not More

After having had a week and a half's worth of vacation, a weekend doesn't seem like very much.  It is nice.  Don't get me wrong.  I'm not going to turn my nose up at a weekend.  But it is not a week and half.  It is less.

Going back to work was hard. I get up in the darkest of darkness and stagger out of the manse into the same darkness.  I drive in the darkness.  For a chunk of the school year, I arrive at my workplace in darkness.  And now that winter is upon us, it is a cold darkness.

I am a good person.  I don't litter or make fun of puppies, not even the really goofy looking ones.  I understand that I am but one story in a million and that I don't deserve showers of chocolate kisses every time I manage to make it to school on time in the darkness.  I live a simple life.  Sometimes I'm ahead of the game.  Sometimes less so.

I smile my way through my school district's budget crunch and the resulting salary freeze.  I accept that the negotiation process is not the sort of thing that can be rushed and that someday we might see a pay raise.  Some months are better than others, but mostly I get by on the "less" that I've been handed this year.  I know that it isn't personal, me having to drive in the darkness for a smaller salary. It's just the way it is.  Even if it's less.

However, there has to be line drawn somewhere.  I'm willing to tolerate a great deal.  The darkness.  The cold.  The dwindling paychecks and the fact that I'm not on vacation anymore.  But a cup of coffee that doesn't stay hot for the entire commute?  That is an insult that cannot, nay shall not, be borne!



I shall have a big, fat, chunky mug cozy, by God!!!



Granted, it took 30 precious minutes away from my weekend (which is less than a vacation...), but it was worth it.  My coffee will be snuggled within its little jacket and perhaps even stay warm for an extra fifteen minutes.  Fifteen minutes is also less than a vacation.  It is less than a weekend, even.  But it is an eternity to a tired, cranky teacher driving 45 minutes in the cold darkness to a working destination.

Now if I could come up with a pattern for a Weekend Cozy.  Maybe I could make that last longer.  Or at least feel like it wasn't less...

SA

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

If life gives you lemons/cold, make lemonade/mug cozies. Win!

Guinifer said...

I think that they call them snuggies.

Teri S. said...

If you come up with a weekend cozy that makes the weekend last longer, let me know. I'll pay (almost) whatever you're asking.

Kath said...

I desperately need a Weekend Cozy and think you should seriously pursue this idea.

Karen said...

Lovely cup cozy! The color is so cheerful. I hope that helps with the dark cold early mornings.

Donna Lee said...

Does it really work? My coffee is less than optimally hot when I get to work and would love to make one.

It's dark here in the morning too. And sometimes dark when I go home. I like watching the daylight slowly creep back but I wish it would creep a little faster.

sheep#100 said...

Good news, Sheepie: this upcoming weekend is one of the three day variety.

It is less than a vacation but more than a regular weekend.

Beth said...

Very nice!

Susie said...

Hi! I've been MIA from blogland for quite some time and I have missed you. Because you are a prolific blogger, I am now obligated to page backward to the last one of your posts that I read, and spend the better part of the next few days, possibly weeks, catching up with you. I hope there is some happy stuff, as my own pages are not so happy and I'm hangin' on to every happy post I can find.

Did I say I missed you?

I'll do my best to comment again when I'm caught up. Do not expect to see another comment from me here for a while.

I really missed you...

Amanda said...

Beautiful colors! I've been thinking of knitting a coffee cozy that I can use at my weekly knitting meetup.

Julia G said...

Love the colors of your coffee cozy -- it reminds me of lilacs in May.... Could you whip up a nice New England cozy quick? Looks like we're going to get socked in by an Absurdly Ginormous Snowstorm.