Nothing Personal

I had an interaction this week, that, had it happened another time in my life, probably would have offended me.

I won't get into details, but I was somewhere in the middle of the day, and when a person I recognized saw me, she said "What is it you do that allows you to be here in the middle of the day?" I was taken aback, and I sputtered "Well, I just got out of work." She nodded, and as she continued past, remarked: "I wish I had your job!"

Really? Which one? Because at the moment, I hold five part-time jobs, meaning I answer to five bosses. I am also the president of my local historical society, a member of cultural council, and I just finished 6 years of being on school committee. Did I mention that one of my kids isn't in full-time school yet? Yeah, it's been a bit of a juggle.

And, yes, when you piecemeal the way that I have, you do get random hours in the middle of the day, here and there, to do fun, non-work things. It's one of the things I enjoy most about the work that I have chosen. 3 of my 5 jobs can be done from the comfort of my home, in front of the computer, any time of the day or night. It's flexibility at its finest. Many nights after the kids are asleep, I am working so I can enjoy my son during the day in his last months before Kindergarten, and my daughter and husband when they get home from their long days of school. One weekend a month has me in front of the laptop while my family goes and has fun without me, but we take it in stride because we know with Kindergarten looming for the youngest, my flexibility will increase and I can move that time to week days.

But I didn't hold that person hostage and tell her all of the above reasons why I could be doing something fun in the middle of the day, because if there's one thing I've learned, it's this:

What people say and do is more of a reflection of them than it is of me.

The day this occurred, it was beautiful, sunny and warm. I believe those comments were said as less of a dig toward me, and more of a vocalization of how that person wishes they weren't chained to their place of work at that very moment. In other words, I think it entirely dealt with her own feelings, and really had nothing to do with me at all, except that I happened to be standing there.

This is still a new way of thinking for me. The old me would have gotten all riled up and offended by the comments said. Maybe one of the benefits to getting older is being able to more clearly see what's worth getting worked up over and what's not. Sometimes you just have to let people slide by with their asinine comments and give them a little grace.