No spare time

Breeding bengals and raising kittens leaves very little spare time. Add to that a family with two busy, growing teens, and an organic blueberry farm in full swing from July through part of September, and you can imagine that the only time I have to sit down around here is when I am at the computer, answering emails, or like right now, taking a moment to write a quick post while I keep an eye on the stove as dinner is cooking.  ​

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​Yes, life is busy, but I'm certainly not complaining. In fact, I've never been happier in all my life. I recently left my 20+ year career as a corporate paralegal in order to focus completely on the kids and the bengals, so here I am - up to my eyeballs in kids and cats - and blueberries for the time being.  As stated in a spot-on meme that I found the other day, "Self-employment simply means having the freedom to pick which 18 hours of the day you'd like to work."  

There are pros and cons. Being self-employed is one of the most enjoyable ways to exist and pay the bills - "Do what you love, and love what you do" - however it can also be very difficult to know when to clock out for the day or take a break.  Since I am working for myself now, doing what I am very passionate about, I never really feel the need to clock out or take a break.  Sometimes I find myself burning the candle at both ends - up early to feed the cats and clean before seeing the kids and husband off for the day - and up late into the night answering "just one last email", or "taking a minute" to quickly update the website with new photos from the photo shoot I was able to sneak in that day.  

The life of a breeder is definitely not a Monday through Friday sort of job. There are no such things as 'weekends' and there are no holidays without extreme planning and organization. It's a 7 days a week, 24 hours a day sort of thing. None of those hours are set in stone either.

Sure, I sometimes feel burnt out, but then I ​stoop to pick up one of our adorable kittens and all of the tiredness floats away.  This is what it's all about. Those little "mews", the pitter-patter of little feet chasing toys around on the floor, and the endless hours of entertainment they provide. You can hardly call it "work" - but when you realize that each kitten has attached to it an adoptive family, with millions of questions and concerns regarding their kitten, emails to answer, contracts to draft, hours of cleaning, feeding, socialization and training... it becomes obvious that this is, in fact, technically a job. But it's more fulfilling than anything I've ever done before. It's what I love, it's what I live for... I can't imagine my life without being surrounded by these beautiful creatures.  My husband loves them as much as I do, and the kids have never known a life not being surrounded by animals. They often comment how strange it seems at some of their friends' houses where there are no pets. They say it seems so lonely and quiet... and CLEAN!!! Hahaha.... I love my kids. They are as crazy as I am - you can't live in this house without being a little crazy.

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