Thinking Big: In Life and T.S.

My husband is gone on business this week. Typical of my mate, I have heard more from him in the past 12 hours than I often do when he’s actually working ten miles from the house. (He misses me and the kids to pieces. We are his lifeline, hence 7 calls a day when he’s traveling. He is one I.T. Managing Professional Odd Duck in my book. God bless him.)

“Check out this long line at L.A.X.,” he’ll write me. “It’s so cold. What’s the weather like in the Valley?”

I am not complaining. I am a yakker. I love the give and take. So for his amusement, I sent him a few things to read during his layover in Chicago. Yes, a lot of men might take this opportunity to tour a strip club or go out for some pizza. My husband? He sets himself up on a laptop, pays bills, and waits to hear from his wife. This is what he heard today. Brace yourself. It’s pretty exciting.

Hi Rex –

My office is a sty. You need to make more money so we can hire the Pottery Barn to come in and give me cubbies. Then again, I could clean up the floors. But I can’t clean floors because I can’t find them to clean them. I did, however, make a whopping $25.87 on Ebay! However….

…I ran out of First Class Mailing Envelopes. This means 1 of 2 things.

 1.  I order more envelopes. They should arrive in 2 weeks.

2.  I don’t order more and only use Priority from now on.

 I am going with #2.  Of course that also means that I have to buy stuff that is worth enough that it merits shipping Priority.  It means people must be willing to pay a bit more for shipping. Which means they must have more invested in the product which means they are not such cheap butts and then I don’t have to be a cheap butt myself and “gain” 2.00 in shipping for a million dollars worth of running around to the Post Office and back.

I have to invest in a stamp machine now, but with thinking big, it’ll payfor itself in six months.

I love Ebay!

Your wife.

Some of you may be thinking that I’m nuts to Ebay for a few hundred bucks a month when I have a book to write, a house to clean, reviews to write and kids to care for. Others might wonder why I’m bothering to tell you about my envelope scenario. Well, here’s why: It’s all about thinking big.

Like the envelopes, if you spend your time worrying about the small stuff in T.S. that you can’t change, you’re going to end up exhausting a lot of energy for no reason. Why not make thinking big your Priority? (Like that? Priority Mail, priorities in life?) In doing so, you won’t waste gas on dumb people who don’t get tics. You won’t lower your standards of life for your kid to make him or her fit in with knuckle dragging cheap butts. You can invest in the larger picture, save energy, and profit from the results.

Do I want to sell thrift store clothes for $400/month forever? No. I want to get some better product that eventually sells itself – passive income – so I can concentrate on my book and get back to magazine writing again. (Remember that? I used to have a column a long time ago. Sigh…) My stamp machine will allow me to once/week put my items on my front door and get back to making cash from what makes my heart sing.

Do I want to worry about Stink’s tics forever? No. I don’t. I want to concentrate on the amazing boy that he is. And really, I’ve had some pretty big break throughs here recently. (A big thank you to the beautiful Addie from my son’s old preschool who had us for lunch yesterday. I am once again reminded that surrounding myself with big thinkers makes my soul smile. And her children? LOVELY. Thank you.)

I will continue to share my thoughts with you as long as you’ll continue to make me a Priority. Tourettes, like Ebay, can seem cumbersome. But it’s also a really cool package when you stop and think about it. You never know what you’re gonna get, so try and make the most of it. What choice do we have?

* Photo of my husband’s line at LAX airport. And my office. Sigh… I have a ways to go in getting organized! Stay tuned!