Knowing Your Limits

Last year, before the Covid lock-downs started, I applied for and obtained a job as a ticket-taker for our local baseball team, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.  I am honestly not a huge fan of baseball, but it is a great community event whenever there is a home game.  We went to games sporadically when the boys were little, mostly during school nights or scout nights.  Whenever we have gone to a game we have seen lots of friends and neighbors.  It is a great time, even if  baseball isn't really your thing.  To be completely honest, my sole motivation for taking the job was to supplement our meager income.  My husband had recently gone out of work on disability, so his income was cut.  Our house payment, however, was not.  We were already struggling financially due to our combined medical bills, so a decrease in income was awful.  I had already picked up a two extra-pay coaching positions at the school that I work at -- softball for the end of last school year, and field hockey for the start of the following school year.  Baseball season started about a week after softball season ended.  Perfect!  Then Covid closed our schools for two weeks -- or so we thought.

As a result of Covid, our schools were shut down for the remainder of the school year, negating our softball season, and as a result, my extra pay.  Covid also shut down the baseball season, resulting in my job being a ticket-taker no more.  What to do?!   We ended up selling our house that Fall and buying a much smaller house with a smaller mortgage -- but that's a whole other story.

In the Fall, when school was expected to open normally, it did not.  We have been on either virtual or hyflex the whole year.  We had been able to get a few weeks of conditioning in during the summer for our field hockey girls, following strict Covid protocols, but the season ended up not happening.  We are currently holding an abbreviated Spring sports season, so I do expect the extra pay for that.  Side note -- I get to sit out in the sun and watch softball games ... and they pay me for it!  How cool is that?!  No, it's not all fun and games.  I do keep track of a lot, and I do go home exhausted every day.  But I love it!  ...and I get to do it with field hockey in the Fall.

So, getting to my point.  I received an email from the Blue Crabs a few days ago.  They wanted to know if I was interested in working for them this year.  I almost, as reflex, said yes!  Then I stopped.  I thought about how tired I am all. the. time.  I thought about the fact that most games are in the evening and start about an hour before I usually go to bed.  I thought that, yes, baseball season starts a few days after softball season ends, so there will be no overlapping there.  But, there will be overlapping during field hockey season in September and October.  Would I be able to go to work all day, stay after to coach field hockey, and then go to another job at the Blue Crabs stadium?  And, the ticket-taking job entails standing up for a few hours at a time.  A few weeks ago I stood up for all seven innings of one of our softball games.  My back hurt soooooo bad that night and the next day.  I so want to be able to take on this job so that I can provide more for my family, but I have to understand that my body has limits.  I seriously can do only so much.  On top of that, I have four college courses not only over the summer, but during the fall also.  There would be no time to complete my coursework.  

Bottom line is, I believe that taking on this job, although it would be good financially, would be detrimental to my mental and physical health.  I regretfully declined.  I am sad about that, because any extra income is welcome, but I am also relieved that the physical stress will not be there.