SIDE HUSTLE
And the things in life that really matter.
We all know one…the kind of person who is all talk and no action. Well, I’m not wanting to be that person…especially after sharing my opinion that having the greatest idea means nothing without action.
And because I don’t want to be a martyr, I think it’s time to take some action. Real action—expeditionvision-like action.
I’m trying to coin this word smashup: expeditionvision. Will you play along as I set forth on my expedition to find my new vision?
When I first began writing my Empty Mess stories, I admitted that my newly empty nest was much different than I thought it might be. Before the kids left the nest, I dreamed of having time to do things just for myself. Things I wanted to do but never had the time. But when the kids’ visits dwindled down to once a year, and I did have the time, I couldn’t remember the dreams.
Some of these dreams have come back to me through my stories. I’ve talked about my love of the outdoors. I’ve often thought that I wanted to grow a beautiful garden. In my story HOME GROWN, I gave detailed plans for “Stephanie’s Organic Herb Shop” that would supply local restaurants with my home-grown herbs. One of my earliest dreams was to be an actress and screenwriter. I lived that dream for a little while. I’ve also shared with you my love of power tools and using them to build and create new things.
One of my first entrepreneurial pursuits was as an upholsterer and window treatment designer. For years, I worked in my garage workshop, sewing and building, while the kids were at school or fast asleep in their beds. Though I endeavored to be creative and to be the best possible mom at the same time, I never struck it rich. I did manage to earn enough extra money to pay for my own home improvement design projects and to pay for trips to film festivals to see the premieres of movies I had acted in. But the more important outcome of keeping my early dreams alive was that it kept me in touch with the outside world.
One of the issues facing all stay-at-home moms is losing touch with a world that isn’t part of your kids’ lives. As moms, our friends were the parents of our kids’ friends, which makes sense since we saw each other every day. At school pickup, at practice, and at school plays, we knew each other’s schedules, so making plans was just easier. Scheduling time to see friends has become nearly impossible without the kids’ schedules linking us together.
Recently, I attended a local author’s meet-up group. It was at a lovely independent bookshop designed with love. As you enter you are surrounded by a welcoming feeling of creativity. About eight of us were seated around the table and we took turns introducing ourselves and our most recent projects. One young author said something that really stuck with me. She commented, “Maybe I need to stop trying to monetize my hobbies.”
Is that what I’m doing? Trying to find my purpose by rekindling my dreams of the past? Maybe … but just as I have grown up, so have some of my beliefs. My younger self certainly had visions of fame and fortune. I admit to having dreams of seeing my name in lights, giving my Oscar acceptance speech, and seeing one of my furniture designs in Martha Stewart’s magazine. My younger self believed that pursuits were worthier if they paid off financially.
Thirty years later, after achieving some financial successes and many failed attempts, I’ve realized that financial success isn’t all that important to me. Each promotion may have brought with it the ability to get more stuff. And more stuff, although fun, required maintenance and repair, more storage space, and a long list of other things that made acquiring the stuff often not seem worth the hassle.
At this empty nest stage of my life, the measurement of success has more to do with the quality of my relationships and true health and happiness rather than with my finances. Maybe those are enough reasons for rekindling my early dreams and taking another stab at a side hustle.
