This is spot on.

I like making leather goods for friends and family. As soon as I made my first few things, my parents and (now ex) wife starting making comments about making it my side hustle, selling at fairs/farmer markets, etc.

I took a few steps down that road, but the business side of figuring out costs, meeting deadlines, etc., absolutely killed my passion for my hobby and I basically quit doing it for almost two years.

I’ve only just gotten back into it over the past few months, making some things for my friends and “charging” them something like a homemade painting or a six-pack of good beer and letting them know their wallet/purse/whatever will be done when it’s done.

I’m happy, they’re happy, and my day job continues to be my source of income, while my hobby is my escape and still feels good.

Wish I could claim credit, but in the immortal words of Shaggy, “It wasn’t me.”

This is just something my mom drilled into us when I was younger, and I still do it to this day

Others have already said to let go about everything being perfect, because there will be things outside of your control that you cannot account for, so I won’t harp on about that.

Instead, I recommend a little pre-trip prep at home to make the end of your trip a dream as well. Take some time to clean the house/apartment, do the dishes and laundry, make the bed.

There is nothing like coming home after a long trip, but coming home to a mess or chores after a (hopefully) amazing time is a terrible way to cap off your vacation, so do yourselves a favor and spend a couple hours on making home perfect before you leave.

$14/hour? Not likely, 20 states are still at the federal minimum of $7.25/hour, and only like 7 are at $14 or higher.

Lump that together with the massive stigma about hiring people who spent time in prison, the shit education and/or training most incarcerated people receive and they’ll be lucky to get two minimum wage jobs to barely squeak by.

The U.S. never abolished slavery, they just gave it a makeover and called it justice.

Can we please start using this photo of him for every article?

Very nice, love some Vulfpeck!

The Madison Square Garden concert (the full video, not the album edit) is one of my all time favorites. If you haven’t seen it, it’s on their YouTube channel.

I feel this, but I’m coming from a very different angle, having been out of a long term (10 years) relationship for almost a year now, and in therapy for several things since then.

When I find myself ruminating on my ex, wondering what’s she’s doing and/or sabotaging my drive to get out and meet new people, I find that it helps to think about why things ended and what I’ve been able to accomplish and feel good about since the split.

It provides some perspective about who I am as an individual, instead of only thinking of myself in the context of that relationship, and it sounds like you might be similar to me in that you invest heavily in a relationship to the point where that becomes a major part of your self identity, which spiraled into codependency.

I think what might be throwing you for a loop here is that this is sounds like an actual partnership (e.g. you don’t have to initiate everything), rather than a pursuit/job on your part to keep things going, which is unfamiliar territory.

I encourage you to keep working with your therapist on everything, and when you find yourself stuck in that type of thought spiral, take a mental step back and try to find what kicked off that train of thought so you can better manage your reaction to it in the future.

(Sorry if this is rambly/all over the place, on vacation and been drinking)