This whole process has been exhaustive. I am tired and cranky and over it. Saturday, 4.12.08 was when my life changed from this whole work thing; volunteering to help. 
It all started last Saturday afternoon when my husband told me that his sister's husband's business competitor was going down and those customers were all flooding over to her the family's business. He told me about it and said he was volunteering me to go and help. I was fine with it anyway and I went over to help without hesitation.
When I got there I found the disheveled employees who had been working nonstop and they were frazzled. They were not prepared for this workload having been dumped upon them. I jumped right in and learned what was required. One of the business owners was about to go out of town for two weeks on a volunteer ministry assignment so this was going to further complicate matters. The main person in the office was not versed on the technical aspect of things, just sales and a limited amount even at that.
Right away I learned the sales part and taking orders. The orders were from the customers switching over from the other company which was going down or just plain not informing its customers. The DS*L company did not provide service, billed its customers the day before it shut down, and then provided no information and its phone became disconnected. The business office was dark and there was no one inside to assist any customers. The customers were irate to say the least. These were exceptional customers and I could not believe they had been treated this way from their prior provider.
It was not difficult to catch on to what was required with the job, for the most part, but the hours were grueling. For two weeks I basically did not see my kids. My husband took them camping on a trip we had planned for over a year. I still feel awful that I missed that trip. I also missed a funeral. My sister-in-law attended yet a different funeral during this same two week span. The co-owner of the business was still out of town the whole time, conducting conferences at night and into the wee hours of the morning with the employees. It was a crazy time.
After the two weeks time span, they asked me to work again for another one week time frame. This time I was not at their offices but in my own location, which I liked better. I had VOIP and it was a better setup since I could be with my kids and family more (the whole reason I work from home to begin with).
So in total, it was three weeks that I worked to help with the family business.
In order to help out with family and basically just for moral support, I wanted to volunteer. Just recently, three months after the whole thing went down, they offered me a check for compensation. We had never discussed money at all. I had told them I only wanted to do this as a favor for family and that I would not leave family hanging.
They insisted that I take the check even after I pursued the idea that I had volunteered my time. I was just glad that the whole thing was over! I really was so glad it was over and I did not want there to be any bad feelings of any kind and I truly was volunteering to stick with family and help out. I even stayed with my sister-in-law for moral support for a while because she was having a rough time. I think I even overstayed my welcome.
We were supposed to go camping together and we never got to go because of that business and the time it took away. It made me sad because it took time away from other things too, like a few parties and the funeral I mentioned. It was for a very young 19 year old married man that our family has known the family of, and the bride's family, for many years.
Work can eat up time. Work should have its place, just like money should have its place. Work is for money and money is for living but neither should overwhelm to the point that they become the most important thing. Then a person will be all alone and sad working for money. There sure won't be more family or time or love because of money that people have worked for.
I love my family very much and I have to be careful how much I work and how I am with money because it influences and involves my family.
It all started last Saturday afternoon when my husband told me that his sister's husband's business competitor was going down and those customers were all flooding over to her the family's business. He told me about it and said he was volunteering me to go and help. I was fine with it anyway and I went over to help without hesitation.
When I got there I found the disheveled employees who had been working nonstop and they were frazzled. They were not prepared for this workload having been dumped upon them. I jumped right in and learned what was required. One of the business owners was about to go out of town for two weeks on a volunteer ministry assignment so this was going to further complicate matters. The main person in the office was not versed on the technical aspect of things, just sales and a limited amount even at that.
Right away I learned the sales part and taking orders. The orders were from the customers switching over from the other company which was going down or just plain not informing its customers. The DS*L company did not provide service, billed its customers the day before it shut down, and then provided no information and its phone became disconnected. The business office was dark and there was no one inside to assist any customers. The customers were irate to say the least. These were exceptional customers and I could not believe they had been treated this way from their prior provider.
It was not difficult to catch on to what was required with the job, for the most part, but the hours were grueling. For two weeks I basically did not see my kids. My husband took them camping on a trip we had planned for over a year. I still feel awful that I missed that trip. I also missed a funeral. My sister-in-law attended yet a different funeral during this same two week span. The co-owner of the business was still out of town the whole time, conducting conferences at night and into the wee hours of the morning with the employees. It was a crazy time.
After the two weeks time span, they asked me to work again for another one week time frame. This time I was not at their offices but in my own location, which I liked better. I had VOIP and it was a better setup since I could be with my kids and family more (the whole reason I work from home to begin with).
So in total, it was three weeks that I worked to help with the family business.
In order to help out with family and basically just for moral support, I wanted to volunteer. Just recently, three months after the whole thing went down, they offered me a check for compensation. We had never discussed money at all. I had told them I only wanted to do this as a favor for family and that I would not leave family hanging.
They insisted that I take the check even after I pursued the idea that I had volunteered my time. I was just glad that the whole thing was over! I really was so glad it was over and I did not want there to be any bad feelings of any kind and I truly was volunteering to stick with family and help out. I even stayed with my sister-in-law for moral support for a while because she was having a rough time. I think I even overstayed my welcome.
We were supposed to go camping together and we never got to go because of that business and the time it took away. It made me sad because it took time away from other things too, like a few parties and the funeral I mentioned. It was for a very young 19 year old married man that our family has known the family of, and the bride's family, for many years.
Work can eat up time. Work should have its place, just like money should have its place. Work is for money and money is for living but neither should overwhelm to the point that they become the most important thing. Then a person will be all alone and sad working for money. There sure won't be more family or time or love because of money that people have worked for.
I love my family very much and I have to be careful how much I work and how I am with money because it influences and involves my family.
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