The audacity of hard work

People are complaining a lot these days. So much to harp about too. Gas prices, the economy, the election. We’ve been busy working so darn hard; it’s been hard to get a pulse on all this. JD is working three jobs. I am tenaciously trying to pull off the best grades of my life in order to study to become a nurse. I can’t believe what this has pulled out of me emotionally and I am not even in a program yet. Forget about “hope”; hope has nothing to do with it anymore. I lost hope a long time ago and it had nothing to do with George Bush (can you believe it?). Hope is a virtue that no one can give or promise, not even Sen. Obama. The government wasn’t set up to provide hope. Somewhere in history, I thought we already learned lessons from politicians promising “hope”. Hope isn’t going to fill my gas tank, fix my car, pay my mortgage, do my laundry, and send my kids to college. The only thing that is going to do that is hard work.

It makes me think about the job my Dad had for over 30 years with the same employer. He never jumped ship because he had a “bad” boss. He never left his employment because he didn’t get the raise he was looking for. He didn’t quit because times were tough or he lost his ‘job satisfaction.’ He just did what he signed on to do with the same insurance company for over 30 years. He worked hard.

It also makes me think about my Mom. She could have done a lot of things. Gone back to school, looked for a side job to supplement Dad’s income, she could have hired babysitters, housekeepers, daycare providers, nannies and Au Pairs. She decided to work at home, when working at home meant changing the diapers, cleaning the toilets, washing the windows, doing the laundry and (gasp) ironing. She cooked almost every night. Housework was her “workout”. She even broke a sweat. While working hard, she paid the bills, stretched and saved the dollars and didn’t buy anything on credit.

As a result of hard work, they paid off the one and only house they ever bought…on time. They didn’t have a second, third, fourth or variable loan with an astronomical balloon payment. They never signed papers they couldn’t honor. They were never “late”, “bankrupt” or “default” on an obligation. They never sat around and “hoped” for anything.

My parents were the rare breed of people who had the audacity to work hard, pay their taxes and live within their means. No one “bailed” them out ever. My parents never expected nor demanded a rescue.

The audacity of hard work. If everyone had that kind of fearless daring approach to not only self sufficiency, but charity and restraint; we wouldn’t need people like Barack Obama, or John McCain to sell us virtues we already possess.