The Paid Job Gets Counted

That brings me to something I have recently been trying to understand.

Creative math.

Not regular math.

Not the kind where two plus two equals four.

Government math.

The kind where a person can spend nearly twenty years rebuilding a body, researching treatments, attending classes, earning certifications, experimenting with interventions, maintaining function, managing pain, documenting symptoms, adapting movement, and performing enough unpaid labor to qualify as a full-time occupation.

None of that counts as work.

Then the same person earns a paycheck at a part-time job and suddenly everyone reaches for a calculator.

Apparently I have entered a world where labor does not count, but earnings do.

Effort does not count, but wages do.

The work required to stay functional does not count.

The work required to keep walking does not count.

The work required to manage pain, prevent decline, maintain mobility, and keep the employee operational does not count.

But the paid job?

That counts immediately.

The paid job gets a timecard.

The paid job gets a wage.

The paid job gets entered into the system.

The paid job gets reviewed.

The maintenance job remains invisible.

This is how I found myself trying to understand a system that can call me disabled, employable, productive, limited, capable, impaired, improving, and under review all at the same time.

Welcome to the fascinating world of Social Security math.

Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times.

Department 502 is already filing a complaint.