My first job started when I was 12, as a babysitter. I went to a class at the Y to get certified. I passed a Y the other day and they still have those classes! 55 years later. I’m not sure a lot of 12-year-olds are ready to babysit these days, but I lived in a city, with houses next to each other and everyone knew everyone, at least a little bit. So that, when a 2-year-old stuck a bean up his nose the neighbor next door would quickly come over and with her long nails get it out easily.
I also taught dance to neighbor kids in my basement for 25 cents per class.
My next job was selling something by phone. I don’t remember what. Possibly, circus tickets. My dad drove me to work.
Later in life (starting at 15) I worked a variety of jobs. a local burger place, a Mickey D’s, a bowling alley, a night club. I sometimes worked the door at the night club checking ID’s. I worked there for about 6 months, until one night a friend of my dad's came in and told the owner he had a 17 yr. old (me) working the door. I moved to working at Spencer Gifts, and then another night club but I was 18 and married by then.
I started working in day care centers and really liked it. I soon learned that I could make twice the money if I had a degree, so I went to college and got one. I worked in day cares and was a substitute elementary teacher.
I moved to Nashville where I taught in day cares, then was the director of TSU’s evening childcare center for 5 years. I also wrote for a newsletter for school age teachers.
I eventually started cleaning houses. Working with kids it’s hard to know if you are affecting their lives at all. When you clean a linen closet at a house, you’re made a difference!! I would open the door and look in about 5 times, it was so satisfying to see.
I also did some catering jobs and opened a very small catering company where I delivered a weeks' worth of meals. The name of that company was Chill till Tuesday.
I became a dog trainer due to having dogs. I worked with an animal behaviourist with my dogs for 2 years and then apprenticed with her for 2 years. Eventually I went out on my own.
My trainer's clients and mine didn’t want to board their dogs at a kennel so I boarded them at my house. I also became a house sitter, and during this whole time I had 2 radio shows. On the first show I reviewed movies. The name of that show was “The 4th Row” because that’s where I sat. My idea of a movie review could sometimes be “It sucked.” My other radio show lasted for 5 years and was The Politics of Dogs. I talked about dogs, answered dog questions and played dog related music. (Think “Respect” and “Try a Little Tenderness”)
And then the pandemic came, and I got old and had cancer again. I kind of retired. Something is missing from my life though. I’m planning on living 40 more years or so, and a need a new passion in my life, a new vocation.
In his book “Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer talks of vocation as “a path to finding authentic service in the world”. Or as Frederick Buechner defines vocation — “the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s deep need.”
I felt like I was doing that when I was teaching and when I was dog training. Not so sure about my radio show, but I did love doing it.
It’s time to find something new that I love to do that also meets the world need I believe. I just have no clue what that is.
