Nothing shameful about sweeping

There I was sitting in the bedroom of a condo I was renting about ten years ago when my landlady showed up enraged. She'd had a fight with her boyfriend and punched him in the face, he reported her, the police got involved, and that day she'd lost her job because of it. She was a school teacher.

She was talking (yelling) to someone on her phone. I don't remember much except one point when she said (yelled) "I can't go bartend, or be a waitress! I HAVE A TEACHING DEGREE!"

I think it was the arrogance of it that hit me at the moment, but years later I realized that there is nothing shameful with taking a "lesser" job. Tending bar, waiting tables, or sweeping the school hallways are not shameful, they are all opportunities to excel at the task in front of you and learn from every experience each day.

Life doesn't owe us anything. We're not entitled to riches just for showing up. Sometimes the best lesson can be learned in the humility of doing the task in front of you while building toward that greater goal.

Of course, she did get herself into the situation by punching the lights out of her boyfriend, but that wasn't the point here. If you mess up, be prepared to pay the price. But please, remember, there is nothing shameful about sweeping.