Conversations With Myself — "Barely Gonna Make It!" (HiveBloPoMo Day 10)

As I look at the clock, and realize that we are closing in on 11:30pm, I also realize that I'm barely going to make it!

I can't help but wryly grin a little bit to myself at the realization that I'm not actually making an excuse when I say is that the life I live does not lend itself to challenges that require me to take a specific action every day.

To wit:

First thing out the gate this morning, I was packing up the final things we needed to take to the event where attending this weekend; then I spent two hours getting everything stacked and situated in the truck; then we drove the 45 minutes to the event which meant leaving the house at around 1:15pm.

Then we had "vendors set up" from 2:00 to 4:00, and then the gates opened to the public. With break periods and assorted presentations at the primary event venue we were there at our table until about 9:30pm, then had a 45 minute drive back home.

Then came unpacking the lunch chest, and getting things together for tomorrow and taking care of our dog we've been by herself all day and desperately needed to get out and have her dinner, and now I'm finally taking a breath and sitting down to write this post at 11:30pm.

I don't know about anyone else, but most of my posts take about 60-90 minutes to write, proofread, illustrate, footer and tag and appropriately. YOU do the math...

The #HiveBloPoMo challenge is fairly simple: you basically have to write a blog post every day for 30 days during the month of November. For me, actually finding the time in the schedule of what I do... to sit down and write a blog post during waking hours can be a challenge! There are many days when my work and obligations last from early morning till midnight and sitting still for 5 minutes is a luxury.

Am I singing a sad song about "a life gone wrong?" I don't believe I am. It's more a reflection of life in the United States in the year 2023, where those of us who still believe in a measure of independent control over our lives pay for it in terms of the time we need to spend, in order to "buy" that life from the powers-that-be.

The country is "sick" but nobody really wants to talk about it.

I watch friends who have been independent and self-employed for a long time give up and basically end up taking (relatively speaking) grunt jobs in some company because they just can't make ends meet any other way. Even more depressing, I watch people who have been retired for a few years having to go back to work because they can't afford to live on their meager pensions.

That has to royally suck! You've been retired for five years and at 73 you're out looking for a job again because otherwise you'll be eating cat food! What kind of world is that?

Well, I have five minutes till midnight, so I need to publish this, ready or not! Just another day in the life of....

Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation! I do my best to answer comments, even if it sometimes takes a few days!

Graphic by @traciyork

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(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly and uniquely for this platform — NOT posted anywhere else!)
Created at 2023-11-10 23:58 PST
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