Larry The Toll Booth Guy

Since I've returned to work,. I've had to adjust to sitting in traffic on the way to work and on the way home.  most days it's not too bad and I manage a half hour commute.  But sometimes it gets heavy and I get stuck in an hour to an hour and a half of traffic.  But I recently found a remedy to make the traffic bearable.  I have an iPhone so I'll pull up my Netflix app and listen to stand up comedy routines while I sit in traffic.  Yes, I'm that crazy lady alone in her car laughing her ass off.

A few weeks ago I was listening to a comedian who had a piano brought out on stage so he could read some of his poetry.  He didn't play piano so he asked if anyone in the audience did.  Several people responded with raised hands and drunken hoots and hollers.  Ultimately Larry was chosen. 

Larry walked on stage slowly and at his own pace.  He was a heavy set gentleman in a T-shirt and hoodie, shorts, and tennis shoes.  He had a dopey look on his face and an even dopier laugh.  Some would say that he may have been enjoying a treat of the green leafy variety before the show.  He sat down at the piano.  The comedian asked his name and what he did for a living.  He answered that his name was Larry and that he was a toll booth collector.  Classic comedy fodder.  The comedian and Larry exchanged a few jokes and chuckles back and forth.  Easy money for the comedian as Larry just sat and giggled at every witty comment with no retort.  Just a stupid look on his face.  God love him.

Then it was time for the poetry.  This comedian's shtick was to read funny and obscure "poems" while someone played different songs in the back ground.  All of it was unrehearsed since he pulled his piano player from the audience each time.  Whether the player was good or bad, this was a classic comedy formula.  There is no way this wouldn't end up funny!

So he asked Larry to play something smooth.  And no one saw what came next.  Larry the toll booth guy was a classically trained pianist!  He played beautifully.  Exquisite even.  I was blown away!

It's been weeks since I listened to this show.  And I keep thinking about Larry the toll booth guy.  I, just as everyone else in that crowd, took one look at this guy and expected that we were in for a performance of chopsticks or Twinkle Twinkle.  But we judged too quickly.  Who knew this portly fellow with the stupid grin and the blue collar job was sitting on this amazing talent.  And why wasn't he using this gift?  It made me wonder how many of us stop using our talents.  What happened that made us abandon our dreams and stop using our gifts.  Why aren't we the things we wanted to be when we were little.  Didn't they tell us that we could be anything we wanted to be?  Did Larry really dream of being a toll booth guy?  Methinks that he didn't spend hours practicing with a coach to be a toll booth worker.  Methinks those hours were spent at a piano. 

I know my current profession wasn't my childhood dream.  I also know what took me off course.  I became a mom at an early age.  Dream chasing stopped and paycheck chasing began.  While I'm good at what I do and it definitely takes care of my family, it's not what I dreamed and it's not what I feel I was born to do.  So where do we go from here?  How do I get back to the place where I chase my dreams?  Are we all Larry?  Are we all sitting on our gifts?  Are we all hiding such incredible talent that no one can see?

This comedy show I listened to on my way to work one morning left me with many questions.  It also reminded me not to judge people by their appearance or even what they do for a living.  We are more than our clothing and we are more than the title on our business cards.  Let us not ever forget that.

Thank you for the unexpected lesson Larry the Toll Booth Guy.

Hi Ho! Hi Ho! It's back to work I go!

Last month the answer to our year and a half long financial prayers was received when I was invited to rejoin my prior employer whom I had parted ways with due to a disposition 3 years ago.  I got the job offer on a Friday and by Sunday I was on a plane to San Francisco for orientation!  Way to kick it back into gear right?!

It's been a mixed bag of emotions with me retuning to work.  A part of me loved having the opportunity to be a stay at home mom for so long and after 23 weeks of bed rest I surely appreciated 10 whole months of time with my baby before returning to work!  But part of me has always been a working mom.  This has been a balance that I've been familiar with since I was a baby as my own mother worked hard while raising us three girls on her own our whole lives.  This was my example and I follow it proudly.  I also have worked regularly since becoming a mother so I don't really know anything else.

I'm glad I got the opportunity to be at home for a while as it taught me many things (that I suppose I already knew) about myself.  Like the following:

1) I need daily structure.  Without it my ADD reigns supreme and I don't get nearly as much done!
2) I NEED to miss my kids.  Guess what.  You don't get to miss your kids when they're always hanging off you!
3) I need to be recognized for the work I do.  Not once while I was at home did anyone say "Mom, those socks you folded yesterday were an amazing piece of work!" or "Sweetie, your toilet cleaning skills above expectation!" 
4) I need days off.  That's the funny thing about being a stay at home mom.  No days off.  Same thing every day.
5) I want to teach people and have them listen.  Employees are faaaaaaar more likely to listen to advice than children.  Hands down.

There were so many things I was so grateful for while I was home too though!

1) It was reaffirmed that my husband and I are true soul mates and partners.  I mean, I was 100% reliant on him the whole time I was on bed rest.  Day in and day out.  And you know what?  He was amazing and we did fine being together every stinkin day!  We lived each one of our vows, "In sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, for better or for worse" and came out on top.  I love you honey!
2) My kids are amazing little people!  I knew it before but it was amazing to see them in their daily habits and routines.  When you work your days with them on the weekends are either running errands or doing something out of the ordinary like the zoo.
3) My sister and her 4 kids moved 2 blocks away (from California) just before I gave birth.  So I got to spend a ton of time with her and the kids during their first year in Washington!  A real treat since I've lived here for 13 years and haven't been able to get to know any of them.

So while my time home was blessed I am so glad to have been able to return to work.  And for a company I truly love!  I think this may have been part of the plan this whole time.  There were lessons I learned and like I always say, sometimes God whispers and sometimes he yells.  I don't think I was listening too well so he had to yell.  But great lessons came from all of the grief of the past year and a half so I wouldn't change any of it- with the exception of my father-in-law's suicide.  That I would change in a heart beat.

I am doing work differently this time and I made that clear in my interview.  I stated that for this season in life, I want a lighter load so I can go home on time each day, not work weekends, not be on my laptop each night after the kids go to sleep.  I want more of a balance to my work and personal life than I allowed before.  And so far I think I'm doing it.  I take lunch breaks and leave on time so my time with my family is not compromised.  I hope I keep this pace because it's pure bliss!

Yes, it's back to work I go.  But in the end, my home is still my #1 priority!