I am sitting outside my back door in a small alcove that we’ve furnished with two chairs, a bench and three small glass-topped tables. There is a lemon tree to my right filled with Meyer lemons, a wonderful variety that is sweeter and has a thinner skin than regular lemons. The dogs are out back and occasionally I hear Cordelia barking at what is surely a squirrel. We have a few who love the avocado trees and who, when not nibbling on avocados, seem to enjoy taunting the dogs. Sammie is silent at the moment. She is probably curled up in a soft spot under one of the chairs in the far back yard.
I have been on jury duty two days so far and I will go again tomorrow, and the next day and the next until they tell us we’re done. A week to 10 days is what the judge said to plan on…so…for that amount of time I will be rising early, getting dressed and heading downtown for the day. This is very different from my regular routine as a self-employed person. Usually, I get up, get dressed and head over to my table in the living room to start my day, which involves working with online students, editing stories and essays, working on my novel-in-progress, writing my blog, and then seeing “real” students in the afternoon or evening, depending on the day. I also have time allotted every day for working with my husband, Ray, on tasks related to his design business. And, somewhere in there, I attend to the general household duties of cooking, cleaning and buying groceries. As a result, I am constantly shifting my attention and readjusting my expectations on how my day will play out. Life, in short, does not follow a predictable routine around here. This is unlike jury duty; where we start at 10, break at 12, resume at 1:30, have a 3 o’clock break of 15 minutes and then end at 4:30. Wow. Who knew life could be like that?
I see why people love the routine of a regular 9 – 5 job. I have worked a few and I know that it’s not as routine as jury duty, but it does have its perks – like being finished at 5 or 6 at the latest. This is not the life of a self-employed person – or, at least, this self – employed person or her husband. We are often up earlier and working later than most people I know and there is always that element of uncertainty about how well the economy is going to treat us. (Finally, after two terrible years, it looks like we’re going to be all right…if that statement didn’t just jinx us.) The point is that my experience with being self-employed has been about as opposite my current 10 – 4:30 “job” as you can get. It has the advantage, of course, of having lots of variety, more freedom, fewer restrictions and no boss. There’s nothing wrong with any of that…
Ray commented that when something comes along that “highjacks” your life, like jury duty, it is almost like a mini-vacation. Suddenly, I am not thinking about a dozen different things, figuring out how to come up with more business or a more efficient use of my time or how to juggle my life with its many facets. No, I’m just getting up, putting on my clothes and driving down to sit in a room all day where I listen and take notes on a case. Maybe the universe knew I needed this respite after a hectic period of life over this past spring. Or maybe I just got lucky. Either way, I am sitting here with all other thoughts on hold, writing my blog at 5:39 pm instead of 11:39 pm and feeling more relaxed than I have in a good long time.
So, I believe I’ll savor this opportunity. Right this minute, I think I’ll just sit here with my feet up, watch the bees nuzzle lemon blossoms, and listen as the birds chirp high up in the maple tree.
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