Make It Work

Long before a certain famous man that I am quite fond of made that phase his own, I used to say that my name was actually “Jessie Make It Work” or “Jessie Fix It.” Some things never change. Then again…

Life is never what you expect.

*for those of you wondering what the point of this post is: I am having one of those life moments when it is time to charge forward or pack it in, and of course I am charging forward. I am feeling strong and motivated and I wanted to share this with you, in case it helps motivate you, and to write it down so if I need to remind myself, I can. Sometimes, I just need to tell you a story.

I started sewing when I was 5. I was in my first school play at 6. I learned to crochet at 8, and to knit at 12. I kept sewing, and in 6th grade my love for theatre was truly ignited. By high school I realized I could mix sewing and theatre and become a Costume Designer. Throughout all of this, crochet had been a hobby, but I never really got into knitting.

I found what my research showed me was the best BFA in Costume Design you could get, so I knew where I needed to go to college, and I earned my BFA in Costume Design from The Theatre School at DePaul University (formerly the Goodman School of Drama.)

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I did my time in LA, working for a costume company, and even doing wardrobe for a pilot at Universal. I learned that as much as I loved LA, I did not like the LA film industry. It was not the friendly, crazy, functionally dysfunctional family that I had come to love with the theatre industry. So I left.

I ended up at Adelphi University in Long Island NY, just barely past Queens, running the costume department. I loved it. It was everything I had ever dreamed of. Everything except my biggest dream that I really didn’t share with people. The one thing no amount of talent, determination, and hard work could make happen. The dream to find a great guy, fall in love, and raise a family. And to be *gasp* a stay at home mom.

Then it happened. Just before my 25th birthday I was set up by a mutual friend with a boy who lived in Jersey. In a few years I found myself leaving the career I had loved my whole life, leaving the best job I had ever had, and moving to Jersey. Putting all my faith and trust in this man and our relationship. Two months after I turned 31 we had our 2 year wedding anniversary, and a few days later our twin girls were born. After maternity leave, I went back to work for the craft store I had been working for as the on site artest, but after a few months I came home to be a stay at home mom.

I started this blog. It was just a way to share about the girls with my family. Somewhere along the line it grew. It started to be about more. My love for yarn rekindled and became more than it had been before. I realized I loved knitting as well as crochet.

Even though I was a stay at home mom, I still wanted to bring in money. At first it was with sewing commissions, but that became more and more difficult with the girls in our tiny apartment. I knew some people made money off blogging, but I didn’t think that was were my blog was headed; I mean it was just a place for me to share about my family, and to post a bit about my crafting, and maybe put up a free pattern sometimes…

I started selling some patterns on Ravelry, Craftsy, and Etsy. We bought a house. The girls started school. Things happened. Things we were told would happen did not. Things we were told would not happen did. For one very scary year it looked like we may end up having to sell the house or not be able to pay our bills which would just lead to foreclosure. Doug’s School District was working with no contract and a pay freeze. He had a second job, and took a third. I was the one in charge of our finances, and I refused to let this happen. I knew I could be home for the girls, and still make enough money to fix this. Life had thrown some serious curve balls at me in my time, and I had never given up before, I was not about to start.

So one year ago I started talking to some of the other crafty/yarnie bloggers I had met on line, and turned my hobby blog into the base of my home business. I monetized my blog and my video tutorials. I started working harder at making more sale patterns, and more free patterns for this blog. I joined the Crochet and Knit Guilds of America, and I went to their Knit and Crochet show in Concord, NC. I networked, I made friends, I picked brains. I did not give up.

Finally, we are at the point where I do not worry about money. I am confident that even if Doug does not have a contract by next school year, he will still be able to leave jobs 2 and 3 by the start of the ’14/’15 school year. Doug wears hearing aids. He got his first pair as an adult about 9 years ago (he had tried them as a child and the technology was just not right for him at that time.) Last year we had to replace one of them, it cost nearly $3000. Last night he told me the other one is basically dead. He kept hoping it would last until he got a contract. I told him to do something I hate doing. I told him to charge it. We have plenty of credit, we don’t really use our credit card, we have it for emergencies. I told him, even without a contract, things would be getting a lot better for us financially in the next year, so just charge it and I would make it work. I told him he no longer needed to stress about the dying hearing aid, or about money. I meant it.

I told him that just because I was going to bring in the additional money we need to get by did not mean he should stop fighting for a FAIR contract. 4 years into no contract and a pay freeze, with a union that is just barely better than no union at all (I used to have more faith in them, but at this point, they are making a habit of proving me wrong,) we have to fight. We have to remind the other teachers that they can vote “no” on an unfair contract, and maybe that will be the catalyst needed to make the district give us a fair offer, or to make the union finally call the strike we voted on allowing them to call nearly a year ago.

Now, with all of this, I am reminded of my former life. I am reminded of tech week. Tech week is the week leading up to opening night of a show. Where working 80 hours is not odd, where one time when I was working at the University I worked 123 hours (please don’t divide that by 7, you don’t need to know just how crazy I am.) I spent a few nights on the couch in the green room outside of the costume shop that week (there were showers there as well.) I am reminded of this because I now have that same feeling. That motivation to do whatever it takes, every waking hour of the day, to reach the goal. I WILL make it work.

I am the engine that could. I can. I will. This is my life and I will make it work for me and mine. Not only will I make it work, but I will have a good time doing so. I will continue to take what I love doing and make it bring in the money we need to pay our bills. I will find a way.

I. Will. Make. It. Work.

Who’s with me?