Exhausted

About a week ago I got a new job. I'm a proud employee of my mom's insurance brokerage in Pleasanton. Who would have guessed it? Insurance is still insurance, but I'm learning every day. Summer can easily become a time when one learns nothing. No school means no homework. But what about lifework? I'm up to my neck in it.

Every day I have stuff to do. Working with my mom means getting up at 6:00am to shower and leave at 7:00 to be at the office by 8:00. We work until 5:00. And then I go home. I'm still working at Banana Republic, so weekends aren't free. It's quite a lesson in stamina, determination, the importance of a healthy lifestyle.

Mine could be healthier. I've started going to bed at a "reasonable hour" voluntarily. Today I ate salad for lunch! These are desperate times.

Jon is out of town at a conference in Las Vegas. Thankfully I have something to look forward to this time. Friday morning, bright and early, I will don a tank top and khaki shorts (an outfit I can't wear to either job), grab my backpack and head to the airport. Yes, I get to meet Jon in Vegas for a weekend of no work and all play. I am a lucky girl. We have a junior suite at Caesar's Palace, tickets to Cirque Du Soleil, lots of plans to do very little. It'll be a breather.

Jon has been there since yesterday going to seminars and talks. He says it would be a lot more fun if I were there. I agree. Vegas needs me. And, oh, do I need Vegas!

Still, there's something exciting about being a bonafide adult. You know? Having a steady job that makes decent money while providing a necessary service. I feel responsible and helpful. Folding sweaters just never seemed to do much for me. Aside from giving me lovely clothes at an affordable rate, I don't think I'll miss Banana Republic much when I go. Though I have made friends.

But you can't beat working with my mom and her friend Denise (easily the sweetest lady in the world). I'm sure they'll inspire much for my little digital diary over time. For now this is it. I need some sleep (hard to achieve with visions of liability limits running through my head) and a chance to just be still ("Can I get that for you in another size or color, ma'am?").

My house is very empty without Jon here. Crypto has sought refuge from all the nothing under the guest room bed. Disney missed me desperately all day and now wants to be close to me. No, really, sitting on my chest and shoving his furry face up under my chin isn't near enough apparently. I can't blame him, though. When you love someone and they leave, and you miss them more than you thought was possible, you want to be as close to them as you can.

Hey, if Jon suddenly showed up I'd probably climb into his lap and nestle my face (not furry) up under his chin and listen to his heartbeat lull me into the sleep I miss only slightly less than Jon himself. I am exhausted. Perhaps I'll take a nap. But not before I feed the cats and take out the trash. Man. And I don't even have kids yet!