When life gives you lemons ...

... it really helps to have a wife who makes lemonade!


When Andy and Kate were young, Lisa worked part time and I worked full time, first at ad agencies and then here at home as a freelancer. This gave Lisa more time to be home with the kids, when it really counted. By the time the kids were in middle school, Lisa and I both worked full time. Heaven knows it takes that much these days just to stay afloat.


Then, when we hit the Great Recession of '08 (or '09 or '10), my work started to slow down. First it was as minute as a job here and there that had been discussed, but now would not be going forward. OK, this is manageable. Then it was a client whose entire marketing department had been dismantled and would no longer be using outside help. Not to worry, it was a smaller client. And then, as they say, the other shoe dropped. A creative director I work with lost a major client. My steadiest clients are cutting back. And my income is going from holding on to hardly there. Bring on the recovery! Sadly, the bills haven't changed any, just the income. 


But that's the beauty of marriage. When one partner is down, the other partner picks up the slack. And that's just what Lisa has done. Not only has she maintained her three twelve-hour shifts each week, but she's picked up any and all standby shifts that have been available. As a result, we're still here!


And me? Ironically, having more free time has enabled me to help Kate with scholarship applications, college forms, NCAA paperwork and so on. 


So when life give you lemons, make lemonade. Or better yet, make your wife a lemon drop.