Today was accounting day. Every Monday I gather all the reciepts and bills for the last week, then I sit down and enter all the information into Quicken and make sure all the numbers match up. This has become even more critical since Howard left Novell and we can’t afford to have money go MIA.
Today I made our first non-benefit health insurance payment. Ouch. I also had to pay off a credit card with a Barcelona hotel stay on it. Novell had already reimbursed us for this, but it was long enough ago that I’d forgotten that the money was only borrowed. With those two and assorted other bills I watched more than $3500 disappear from our accounts. The amounts left over were rather discouraging to me. I looked at the numbers trying to figure out how I was going to make the money last long enough. Finally I just got up an went upstairs where I could get away from them.
It is a good thing I did, because Howard was upstairs in the kitchen. And we ended up having a conversation which reminded me that there will be actual income arriving from commercial cartooning he is scheduled to do. In fact there is enough work currently lined up that Howard is going to have trouble doing it all. I was prepared to get stressed about that, when Howard reminded me this is a GOOD thing. People are willing to pay Howard to cartoon. They are willing to pay enough that rather than watching the money drain away over the next couple of months we will be able to at least hold steady maybe even grow the accounts.
I feel so blessed and I am incredibly grateful that having Howard home cartooning is even possible. How did we get so lucky?
You both have worked hard to earn what you have and deserve every last bit of happiness you get. I’m happy to hear things are working out so well 🙂
Because you Listened. Things came together at the right time. And unlike with the job giving more work than possible in a short timeframe, you two are in a position to space it out and exert a bit of control over the workflow and when “crunch-time” happens.
Tell Howard he needs to keep you updated on the Calendar of Incoming Payments For Commissions. I’m only partially joking – from experience, I can attest it will help ease the worries and make budgeting much, MUCH easier.
Hugs, and congratulations 🙂
.. and I forgot to mention
It’s not all luck. You two work your fannies off making opportunities, making luck, being willing to turn something into an opportunity. Figuratively speaking, when Opportunity knocks, you & Howard invite him in, ply him with wine and the best dinner you can whip up, give him your full attention, make it plain anytime he’s in town there’s a guest bed in the Tayler house … and when he’s gone, you scurry to act on the openings left behind.
By way of comparison, I have an acquaintance whose life (in short) stinks right now, the result of disastrous bad events truly beyond her control, and lately … her own bitterness and resentment (and depression, I suspect) and insistence she’s already tried everything possible … If Opportunity knocked on her door right now, she’d make him wait while she got her slippers on & shuffled to the door, then she’d not even take the chain off … just crack it open and snap “What do you want? Can you see I’m busy!?”.