Money isn't everything
How I got my summers back
“I am not bound to please thee with my answers.”
-William Shakespeare
I used to spend every summer teaching summer school. It was very good money and therefore very alluring. The problem was that every early June, I would be exhausted from my regular teaching job. I would have to drag myself into summer school, where I would count down the six hours each day I was there.
There were a couple of reasons I stayed on the summer school hamster wheel. One is that I was always broke. It didn’t matter that I made a good salary at my school. I spent like there was no tomorrow. And not even just my own money, either, I started charging on credit cards and got into a big pile of debt.
I would also feel pressured by my school to teach summer school and had a difficult time saying no. I had a hard time with people pleasing and felt that puffing up of my pride that they needed me, and that the kids needed me. This was nonsense.
Once I moved, I made a commitment to myself that I would no longer teach summer school. I paid off my debt and started living within my means. Now I have the time during my summers to do a lot of meetings, to work for just a week at a dream job that both pays me and improves my teaching, and to volunteer. I never had time for this before. And I get to have rest and relaxation. That is vital to my recovery.
Today’s Prayer
God, I feel like I am sacrificing everything to the god of money. Please help me see where I can better balance my money and my time.
This is the June 24 reading from With Gratitude: A Journey in Recovery by Jamey M.