What jobs have you had?
I started babysitting for people other than my parents when I was 11. I put out a flyer on our neighborhood mail boxes advertising myself at $3 an hour. The first family that hired me had a 4 year old daughter and two rambunctious dogs. The girl had a bunk bed. When her parents left she told me the top bunk belonged to her sister, but she died. I realized they only ever needed me for one particular time and day of the week. They were in therapy I believe. I still think about them. I can’t imagine the hell they went through, and I pray I never have to.
After that, I babysat and nannied all the way through my junior year of college. But in between and afterward I had some other jobs.
I got a job at a popular dry cleaning chain in my area. That was memorable because the owner tried to force workers to work off the clock. It also got to be 100 degrees in the back because we had no air conditioning. My coworker bought drugs at the neighborhood behind the cleaner.
After that, I got a job at a waterpark. My job was in the retail department. I always volunteered to work at the raft and vests stand because I loved the freedom I had to read in my downtime. As I recall, I read a lot of ee cummings that summer. Everyone else wanted to work in the gift shop because it was air conditioned, so they were glad to let me have it. By the end of the summer I was also doing ride attending because so many lifeguards had gone back to college.
I got a job at a beach front taffy job one summer. My Bipolar was kicking in a lot and I kept going hypomanic. I remember skipping back and forth from the front door to the stock room, and trying to make installation art out of the taffy.
I worked at an Au Bon Pain my senior year of college. I loved it. We got passes for free food for each shift we worked. I love ABP!
Then I got a job at a popular homeware store. I hated it. I struggled to get the 60 pound mirrors out of the stock room. My manager was pushy and forced us all to be really pushy sales people. I quit after a few weeks.
Next, I got an office job for a magazine subscription management service. It paid close to minimum wage. I had to walk two miles, then catch a bus, then walk about ten blocks to get there. Not the best days of my life, but I was grateful for a job.
After that, I got a job cashiering at an arts and crafts store. At first I loved it so much I wondered if there was any way to go full time and somehow support myself working there. Then we got new management. It sucked after that. I also had two altercations with a woman who just got out of prison for molesting a child. Needless to say, I didn’t like her. The feeling was mutual.
Then I met my husband and became a housewife. I was going to keep the job at the arts and crafts store and use my paychecks to pay down my student loan debt, but they wouldn’t give me any day shifts and we realized it was not worth spending evenings and weekends apart for a minimum wage job.We didn’t need the money. A year later, I became a stay at home mom. I love being at home and have no intention of entering the workforce again unless we really need money. I love caring for my home and family. Being home satisfies me and fills me with joy. I am living a dream.
Life at Home 