Any Seinfeld fans out there?
Yes?
Well, do you remember the Even Steven episode? The episode is actually titled "The Opposite," but I had to look that up. I call it the Even Steven episode, because the Even Steven reference hits a cord with me.
Jerry's gig is cancelled and 5 minutes later he gets a new gig for exactly the same pay. Kramer calls him Even Steven and Jerry realizes that he is indeed Even Steven. He never comes out on top or on bottom, just always even - right down the middle.
I am Even Steven.
In life, I never stick out. I'm not a bad egg or a brilliant star. I just am. I'm not a person that someone instantly hates or loves. I'm not lazy, but I'm not an overachiever. I tend not to get extremely excited about good things, but I also don't overreact to the bad (my husband may disagree on this one). I stick to that middle line. Not really by choice, but it's just who I am.
Financially, this is even more clear. The last few years have been...rough, in the finance department. It's been rough for a lot of people. Companies aren't showering employees with benefits or raises anymore. Our whole society has a different perspective. I think most people are just happy to have a job...any job.
But, I've always kind of struggled with money. My parents were not wealthy, so I paid for my own college and my own wedding and my own cars and my own houses. My mom has always tried to help when she can, but she's in no position to be handing out college educations or home down payments.
But I am Even Steven. I am always leveled out...
-We have a rental property. On more than one occasion, tenants have left in the middle of the night (Yes, people actually do that!). This always seems to happen right when we get an increase in income. And we always seem to find a tenant right before a new bill comes into play. Often times, of almost exactly the same amount.
-I plan, and work to get debt payed off. The moment I get a bill payed off, it's replaced by another.
-When Clif lost his job we stocked away his last few paychecks. Cut back on everything and took all that money and put it in savings. Seventeen months later, we pulled our last few hundred dollars from savings to pay for something. Clif was hired the following month.
I could go on.
So, I always have this "Even Steven" thing in the back of my head when I'm worried about how we'll make it. Sometimes it is a relief and sometimes? Well, sometimes it pisses me off. Because I know that whatever issue we're facing, will somehow work itself out...but I wonder, if I'm Even Steven, can I ever come out on top?
