My Real Life

It has been a very busy time for me these last few weeks. I have been busy at the Boise Art Museum and my daughter's school had their big fund raiser last night. I was helping get some class cookbooks ready and helping with the program and set up. Today, there is a school concert but I get a break from the museum to go back to my "real life" as someone at the museum said to me. I thought that was kind of funny. When I'm at the art museum is that my "pretend life"?

Let me explain. I started volunteering at the Boise Art Museum in 1993. It was supposed to be an internship even though I had already graduated from college. This meant I was working with the curatorial staff. I hung around so long (years and years) that they started hiring me when they needed some extra help with installation and deinstallation of shows. This was on a contract basis. They paid me but I had to take care of the taxes and social security. I have never been there for the money. Fortunately, I can do that because my husband supports us.

Several years ago, the museum found out that for some reason the way they were doing this "contract" labor was not legal. So then I became an official part time curatorial assistant. It is basically the same thing but now they take out the taxes and social security for me.

I'm not always working there on a regular basis and they are very flexible. So I can pretty much come and go as I please, which is good as I have to pick up Anna after school. Also, when I am not working on an installation or specific project for them, I will try to go in once a week to volunteer to take care of stuff that needs to get done that nobody ever has time for (i.e. filing, slides, etc.). So I'm there and not really there at the same time. That is why I think the comment that my real life is at home and not necessarily at the museum came about. However, I have been working there for about 14 years now. It all seems real to me!

What's your "real life"?