I married a professional clown. A semi-professional clown. Well, she twisted balloons in restaurants that paid her way to Europe for a month and can juggle, and everything. Even has the red wig. Mad magical skills to anyone under 10. Skills I haven't managed to pick up in the last 15 years.
Our kids are now at an age when swallowing balloon bits doesn't appeal to them, and so she has brought out the bag of special twisting balloons she's kept in one closet or another since 1993. And now the slightly unnerving squeaks grow and the pile of balloon animals get thicker with every passing day. One thing we've discovered is Amelia, now 2 and more than a half, has a natural aptitude for the activity. Give her an undoctored balloon and she's already twisting it into little balls, forming the ungodly creatures that lurk in her imagination. I won't be surprised if this is her first marketable skill.
Meanwhile, back in the depressing business land, where I have to a) take care of kids mostly full-time without maiming anybody, and b) be a professional grown-up with a personal training business, I have managed to spend about twice what I made in expenses for the 2009 tax year. This year, I'm working on beating that record with amazing alacrity. Twisting the cork for the cheap Trader Joe's Zinfandel always makes me feel like everything will be okay tomorrow.
Having a self-owned business with not exactly an identifiable brand or target market (hello Jillian from Biggest Loser!), I'm finding myself with a philosophical conundrum. I'm a middle child - I hate pigeonholing myself, so I find it nearly impossible to do that to others. Target markets, networking, demographics, internet marketing, auto-responders.
Shit. I can't help everyone, but I'd like to find a group of people who want what I have to give them. And once I do find them, I can help them.
I'm hanging on by a thread some days, just hoping the wind doesn't pick up. Oh, there it is. Twisting up there, feeling alone. I know I'm not alone, but today I feel alone. Maybe I should learn how to be more of a clown, twist some balloons, just to stay sane.
By the way, remind me to tell you why I haven't written here in almost a year. It's a long story.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment