oh....stop kidding yourself. for my sake.

There's something that's been grinding my gears lately...

Work, or "working" seems to be the number one focus to anyone who has reached the glorious age of 40. Maybe its a midlife crisis thing, maybe its a "I don't want to be around my family, so instead, I'm going to stress myself out over pointless 'busy-work," or maybe they actually like working!

I highly doubt that. No one likes to be stressed out on a daily basis.

So why do they do it?

I have no idea. Maybe I'm too young to fathom the complexity of the situation. So, I asked my mom.

My mom...where do I even begin.

She is the typical workaholic. She works all the time, day and night. When she's not at her job working, she's at home working. And at times, she purposely gives herself more work to do.

The common question around my house is, "Where's mom?"
And the common answer is, "Where do you think?"

...In the god-awful dungeon! (The Basement!)

She sits at her computer, typing vigorously. Any disturbance will not allow her to lose her focus. She's trained for this. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 hours at a time.

My mom is a college professor, a profession to which I wish she never acquired. She's constantly grading papers, making tests, forming grants, and complaining to my dad and I about how her students don't appreciate the work she's putting forth.

But the worst part of it all is that I have to constantly listen to her tell me how I need to prepare my life now for college...and not end up like her students.

It may not sound bad...but it is. 10 horrific years of the same routine. Asking me what I want to major in in college when I was only 7.

So I asked her, "What keeps you working? You're constantly stressed, tired, infuriated...How the hell does this make you happy?'

Her answer didn't shock me to say the least...

"I love the feeling I get when my students come to me and tell me how much they appreciate me as a teacher...I love when I get those little thank you cards, and appreciation e-mails. For some reason, its those little things that make the stress worth it. And plus, working pays the bills. So any stress is worth it..."

Well, this answer doesn't explain why most adults of this generation are workaholics, because, well, most of working Americans aren't college professors. But, working does pay the bills, so I guess I understand this whole concept of working like a madman.

So, to all you bank tellers, pharmacists, and associate directors of whatever, chill. Take a break. Live. You're not going to be able to experience all the things you wanted to do when you were in college when retirement hits.

You'll be old. And fragile.

So, live now.  Please. For my sake.