Work.

     I've gone to school or worked full time since I was a wee one.  Until very recently, I didn't have much free time.  I went from being a full-time student (three degrees following high school|) to a full-time teacher.  I even worked through the summers at various jobs.  But last spring, I lost my contract at a prestigious Toronto private school.  (ICYDK, private schools generally only offer year-to-year contracts based on enrolment, and teachers are not union members.  When enrolment drops, private school teachers lose jobs.  No seniority, no protection.  Regardless of years of service or track record.  It's a business which makes it a numbers game. Now back to the story...)


     This news left me shocked and totally lost.  I have always worked hard.  I got great reviews from parents, students and Administration alike.  I've spent the last 11 years of my life giving up evenings and weekends for my job.  I've given so much of myself that it has literally made me sick at times.  And then...  nothing.  
     Coincidentally, my Earl lost his job in Toronto a few weeks before I lost mine.  So we looked at each other and said, "Hey - let's get the hell out of here!  We hate this city!  We hate how people dress up to go to the grocery store.  We hate the self-entitled atmosphere.  We hate how people drive here.  Let's go!"  Earl and I have easily transplantable skills (artist/teacher), and no children (unless you count Monkey and Turkey, our two kitties, who really don't care where they live as long as we're there!).  So we started to look around for our new home.
     The process began by me looking for work.  There are only so many private schools, and most of them are in Toronto.  I applied all over the country, had a few long-distance interviews (Nova Scotia, BC, Alberta...) and nothing panned out.  So then we decided to come at it differently.  Pick a city and hope the work will follow!  I am an alumna of Trent U and so have held Peterborough in high regard since my days as a student.  Cost of living is relatively low, lots of rental units available, not too far from our respective families, three private schools within commuting distance...  so to Peterborough it was!


     So that's how we wound up here.  Once here, I scoured the job boards, and realized we had moved to a town with one of the highest unemployment rates in the province.  Oh, and coincidentally also a town that was closing one of its high schools.  No work = apply for EI (for the first time in the 20+ years I've been paying in to it) and look for alternate opportunities.
     Earl and I love Peterborough.  We love being able to go to the Farmer's Market and local butcher (PROPS to King St Market!); the town is big enough that we can find things to do but small enough to feel familiar.  Most people (with the exception of the stabby ones) are really nice.  We love supporting Peterborough businesses, and have tried to get involved in the community. Earl is making art and I'm writing and tutoring and volunteering at a local animal shelter. But whenever I see family or friends from the "before" life, the first question is "Have you found a JOB?" 
     
     Which brings me to the title of today's post.  What is the difference between a job and work?  I work every day.  Earl works every day.  Are we getting paid for it?  No.  Are there benefits?  No.   So do those the things that make work a job? 
     Here's another question.  How often do you ask someone "what do you do?"?  And what do you mean when you ask it?  It's really a very broad question, when considered.  At my sister's wedding recently the pastor sat at my family's table.  He was engaging in conversation with Earl and I when he asked Earl "...and what do you do?".  The response?  "Well, right now I'm talking to you."  He didn't mean to make that pastor uncomfortable, nor did the pastor mean to be judgemental of Earl.  It's just a loaded question.  It means, "What do you do to earn the money you need to live your life?".  
     I call myself a teacher.  I do still teach - well, tutor - but I don't go into a classroom every day and bring home piles of marking at night and coach school teams and run clubs and inspire learning in four different classes of students every day like I used to.  But does that change who I am?  
     And why do we draw such tight connections between who we are and what job we hold?  Work at what you love.  If you can get paid for it, AWESOME!  Appreciate your job (if you have one - especially if it has benefits!).  
     
     And strangely, I'm finding that slowly I'm not feeling so lost anymore.  I'm getting quite used to being unemployed.  I'm even enjoying it at times....  I don't need a job to be a valid person.  I need to make money to live (or as Earl calls it, "fun tickets"), but what I do when I'm not "at work" is more important.  I feel like I'm learning an important lesson from living beyond  lesson plans.  And the next time someone asks me "have I found a job?" I know I'll be able to answer without crying, because I know I'll get paid for my work again one day, and when I once again have a JOB, I'll wish I had all the time in the world.