There is so much about right now that feels different.  Or maybe even I would go so far to say as it feels wrong.   

Then again, there are moments that are completely and totally normal.

This evening, those two conflicting thoughts met together.

Son number two is excitedly back to work full time as a plumber’s apprentice.  They are pushed on a project right now, and he’s getting extra hours.  He is literally counting up the overtime pay and calculating tax rates.  (There is truly no better “real-world training” than the real world.)  He is only 19 after all, and it’s his first job.  It’s normal for his viewpoint to be all about the himself, employee.

At the same time, son number two is in a unique position.  He works in the family business, and his father can answer any question he wants to ask—including the one that sticks in all first-year employees.  “Why doesn’t the company pay me more? I work hard!” 

Tonight’s conversation focused on the importance of finding jobs in today’s uncertain economy.  It’s a unique and unknown business environment for all of us right now—something small business owners are acutely aware of.  Their exchange of ideas brought a little more clarity into son number two’s overall understanding. 

The normal world collided straight into our current one while they were talking.

Watching that conversation unfold turned into my silver lining.