2019.2.2 UPDATE: Discouraging Times

Folks,

I apologize for the delay in posting this update.  I know it has been too long since I told you what is going on here.  So, if you have a few minutes, I’ll update you.

MY NEW JOB

As many of you who follow this blog may know, I took a job with my contractor.  The idea was to help my neighbors recover fro the hurricane.  Well, it is starting to look like this was a mistake on my part.  I may have to start looking for a way out of the commitment I made to my new company.  I will not go in to the details.  Let’s just leave it at this: crucial information was kept from me until after I took the job.

Still, even if I leave my new company, I have now assumed responsibility for several very bad messes.  If I do nothing more than help these couple dozen people get their homes fix — honestly — then I will feel as though I did something to help others.  If nothing else, that will allow me to live with the man in the mirror.

TMD

Things with the company are slow right now.  I am keeping up with orders, but it has been tough.  I spent two long weeks trying to catch up with my new responsibilities, and it hasn’t left a whole lot of time for TMD’s customers.  All I can do is tell you that you guys still come first with me.  I may be shipping slower, but I am still shipping and the quality is still where I have always tried to keep it.

NEW STUFF

I had started planning a big year for 2019.  I thought I might have to put that off until I could figure out how to run TMD while I worked my new job.  Now…  Well, now I simply do not know what to do.  Honestly, this whole experience (hurricane Michael, the mess with our own home, my new job) — all of it has served to remind me of how blessed I have been and how good I’ve had it to be able to make a living off my hobby.  So, now that I am feeling like I have done little more than add to the troubles in my area, I find myself starting to yearn for the times when I simply stayed in my shop and made things that helped all of you relax by making your hobby better.

MY WORLD

One of the few bright spots in my world right now is our house.  If things stay on track, we will be moving back in on the 15-16th of this month!  There is still a lot to do, and with my new duties, it is difficult to find time to do it.  Plus, the money is starting to get tight.  But God has got me and BB through this so far and I am trusting He will continue to do so.  Yes, I am stressed — very!  But I am also more awake and energized than I have been in a long time.  At times, I have LOVED my new job.  BB says she hasn’t seen me this excited or as mentally sharp in years.  But I also know that I will not willingly stay in a situation like this for much longer.  I learned from the past, and I am going to either fix things for my boss or tell him he need to replace me so I can go back to doing what I do best — serve all of you.  It is where I am truly happiest, and I have come to understand this means it is where I truly belong.

Thanks for sticking with me.

Joe