unencumbered

I spent the summer in Siloam Springs working with a middle-aged woman whose ideal vacation centered on Branson, Mo and who consistently mispronounced my ‘lunch’ of Cous Cous as Cuss Cuss. She had three children and advised me to live freely while I had the opportunity before irresponsible children and husbands overcame all life’s opportunities.

When I told my fellow temp worker about joining the Peace Corps, she responded, “Do it while you can, girrrl. I wish I could just go off and do something like that. That’s what I should have done when I graduated. Instead I got into HR.”

I was thinking about these comments this evening. In fact, I might depend on them to validate my ‘unencumbered’ lifestyle.

Right now, having no responsibilities means I am unemployed and live primarily on oatmeal, beans and rice. Of course, I have all the time in the world to do whatever I want, provided it does not require monetary funding.

Ideally, my current perspective of desperately wanting a job will continue when I actually have one. Or maybe I’ll become a middle-aged, mid-western woman urging youngsters to ‘live life before the blankity-blank children and no-good husband ruin life.’?

The horror.