one small ray of light

I am on an unpaid day off today. I had to take a 5% pay cut, but in exchange, I get 1 unpaid day off every 4 weeks. That is in addition to my regular paid vacation and holidays. And with the recent tax changes (we call it the "Obama Bump") my take home pay is back to where it was prior to the pay cut. Yes, I know I am not putting as much into my 401K due to the pay cut (my company suspended their contribution), but the extra time is really a blessing.

Time is such a valuable, yet nebulous thing. We try to save time, but there is no "time bank" where we can deposit it and spend it later. Time wasted is gone forever. You can never regain it. So I really like this little bit of "extra time" I get each 4 weeks. It becomes an extra weekend day for me to do whatever I want or need to do. We actually call it a "DWoP" (pronounced du-wop) for Day Without Pay, and look forward to it. I have used past DWoPs to spend the day with my Mom quilting, visit friends on a long weekend, polish up my portfolio (you can never be too careful) and today I am cleaning my closet and getting my hair cut. I can do this and still have Saturday and Sunday to relax as well. It feels like I am getting away with doing something wrong, but it isn't!

Yes, the loss of salary is scary, but this economic storm (like others) will eventually pass. So I plan to take my DWoP every 4 weeks (that is an extra 12 days off this year!) in addition to my vacation days and enjoy what each day brings.

And now a shot of Pepper in the creek (she likes to lay down and lap the water after we walk):

Happy Friday!