Why I'm quittin' my paper route...

Well, I'm actually only quitting ONE of the paper routes.  I'm STILL KEEPING the original one that I wrote about back in March 2011, just days after I started it (10 Reasons Why I Like My Newspaper Route).  What I'm doing is finally giving up THE EXTRA ONE that I took on last fall as a favor for a co-worker:  she was having hip surgery and hoped to be back by Christmas.  Christmas came and went, she decided not to take it back.  We could use the money, so I kept doing it.

On occasion I've "done the math", but as long as there was a profit, I kept at it.  Here's some math:  My last paycheck for that route was $346.09 (for 2 weeks).  My husband, the professional accountant, told me to set aside/save up about 40% for taxes (I know that's generous, but I also know there's more required:  self-employment tax, etc.).  This additional route, the driving route, requires an additional fill-up on gas every week, which, depending on the price of gas...  All figured, that profit is ONLY about $50 A WEEK. 

Oh, yeah, that doesn't count wear-and-tear/repairs on the vehicle.  Just this weekend we had to deal with a $600+ repair bill (at $50 a week, it would take 12 weeks/3 months to pay for it).  Admittedly, the vehicle is older (it has just over 100,000 miles on it) and things are starting to wear out.  But 3-5 hours of stops and starts, in and out of driveways, day in and day out certainly contributes to its wear-and-tear.

And what about wear-and-tear on my body, my health? 

At first I reasoned:  Well, if I'm getting up at 3:30 a.m., what difference does 1:30 a.m. make?  (I know, you think it's insane either way.)  This is the difference - on the other end, the going-to-bed part:  7:30 p.m. vs. 5:30 p.m.  I tried, and sometimes made it, to get to bed by 5:30, 6:00.  Fortunately, my kids are "bigger" and can do for themselves better than "little ones" can, but there was still supper and dishes and leaving them basically unattended for the whole evening.  (And truthfully, I didn't sleep all that well knowing they were "parent-less" from 6 p.m. - midnight, when Mark got home from work.)

Some people (like my husband) seem to function well (or at least okay) on less sleep, but I know my body - I do best with 8-9 hours of sleep.  When I'm constantly tired, I'm crabby, impatient, not thinking clearly/doing my best work...  Sometimes I crash, nap...  Mostly I just barely function.  I don't run my household well (cooking, cleaning, shopping, organizing...).  I'm selfish and not nice to my husband and kids.  I don't homeschool my kids well.  I don't take the best care of the little 21-month-old that I "daycare". 

And I need to take care of myself.  It's really hard to be disciplined to eat well and exercise when I'm so worn down.  It's so much easier to make convenient but more expensive/less healthy meals for myself and my family.  Why it is, I don't know, but it's so hard, after spending 2-3 hours of driving the streets of St. Joe, delivering so many papers, to get out of the van and walk my "walking" route, the last 50 papers (45-minutes' worth).  At that point I just want to GET IT DONE and GET HOME.

So I'M QUITTIN' THE DRIVING ROUTE - I have 2 weeks left, unless they find a replacement before then.

But I'm KEEPING the walking route.  I get to "sleep in" until 3:30.  I am hoping and praying that I will be motivated to WALK IT most every day.  In fact, as weather allows, I hope/intend to use Anna's 3-wheel bike (adult trike) INSTEAD OF THE VAN:  bike up to the pick-up spot, deliver the CSB campus (which, right now, I always do with the van because it's so spread out and I can't carry ALL the papers), park/lock the bike, and walk the residential area. 

Fresh air!  Exercise!  No gas money (well, except for Sundays - the papers are just too big then, even too big for the bike to handle them all)!  And "sleepin' in"!