#firstsevenjobs

There is a #firstsevenjobs fad making it's way through Twitter, where people are encouraged to write their first places of gainful (or not-so-gainful) employment. Since I have yet to understand Twitter or how to tweet, the only way I know about this is in Ben Sasse's new book The Vanishing American Adult, in which he spends a chapter talking about the importance of hard work for the development into successful adulthood.

I have held a lot of jobs in my life. I conclude this is because I've moved a lot, I've normally held more than one job at a time, and I'm motivated by money--er, helping others--so I have a hard time turning jobs down (though I've recently figured out how). So it's hard for me to understand why kids (nowadays) don't feel a drive to work. Are we parents making life too easy for them? Are they unable to put down their phones long enough to use both hands? Do they have no desire for independence?

I think that as much fun as it is to hear about other people's first jobs, it's important for our kids to hear our stories--to learn that the adults they know have struggled through some not-very-fun tasks, and that the singers they look up to were not born singing. Except, of course, for those Disney stars who actually did start singing at the age of 3. Man, my point is shot. Anyhow, I will go on telling my stories to my kids, and what I don't remember, I will make up, as I always do.

Job #1: Babysitting

It's crazy for me to think that I was Kate's age when I started babysitting for 1-4 kids at a time. I was either really mature, or the parents were really desperate. No matter, all of us survived.

Lesson learned: Kids are a lot of work.

Job #2: Child Care at The Y-Center

More kids, but it was mostly Saturday mornings, and we could exercise for free (though I never did). I soon started getting calls early EVERY Saturday from my boss, saying someone had called in "sick" and could I cover for them?

Lesson learned: It does not pay to be the responsible one. And also, that I was allowed to say "no."

Job #3: Busser/Dishwasher/Toilet Cleaner at Russ' Restaurant

Ugh. I just remember being in the back of the kitchen with stacks of dirty dishes, getting completely soaked because I didn't know how to run the machine very well (oddly, this still happens at home). I would buss the tables, but leave the nickel tips for the waitresses to later split with me. I'd rush to finish cleaning the bathrooms by 11pm so my boss could walk me out to my car (just to make sure I didn't get killed--sweet!)

Lesson Learned: Russ' makes the best cheeseburgers and pies. Oh, and old people can be very frugal.

Job #4: College Job: Print shop

I of course needed some "mad money" at Dordt College, so I took up a work-study job ten hours a week at the print shop. We would sit around large tables, talk, fold, and stuff envelopes.

Lesson Learned: How to seal 100 envelopes in a minute. And that you can get high off of the ink fumes.

Job #5: College Job: Cleaning

I started cleaning houses with my friend Julie, and one spring break we came back to school early to clean on campus. Spring Break 1995 Baby!

Lesson Learned: How to clean (but not to move couches). And one house in particular taught me that there are some horrifically dirty people in the world. (I've always said I wish I could hire myself to clean my house, but I can't afford me.)

Job #6: College Summer Job: Golf Green Mower

I'd wake up at the crack of dawn to get to the dewy course so I could get started before the players started. I loved driving the mower, and quickly learned how to not botch the greens. I was always freezing for the first hour, then hot the last hour, but it gave me a lot of time to think.

Lesson Learned: I love the smell of grass, and I love to be alone in my thoughts.

Job #7: College Summer Job: The Title Office Lackie & Factory Worker

I worked several summers at The Title Office doing filing, answering phones, covering the front desk, and trying to figure out the fax machine. My last summer before I graduated I decided I needed to make more money, so I added a job at an interior car parts factory that my brother had worked at. I got a hard hat, safety goggles, and steel-toed boots, and they put me on blinker switches. So, that summer I worked at the title office from 8:30-12:30, ran home for lunch, then worked second shift at the factory from 2:30-11pm.

Lesson Learned: I did not want to work 60 hours a week again, but I met some of the best people at the factory. They threw me a going back to school party with pizza, $20, and a water balloon fight! What I did not learn is what exactly The Title Office does.

In thinking over this list, I realize I lack any real, physical labor. I mean, Greg worked construction and laid underground sprinkling, and our friend Scott was telling us about his job detasseling corn, where he was out in the hot sun, came home from his first day wearing just one boot and a rash. The closest I ever got to physical labor (besides of course delivering my children) was the paper route my brother and I shared in junior high. I didn't include it here because I barely remember it. What I do remember is having to get up super early on Sunday mornings, fighting with Josh, and crying in the rain and snow. I don't think we lasted more than a few months. Lesson learned: Some jobs are just not worth the money to me...I don't care if you offer me $5 a week to wake up at 6 and walk miles in the freezing rain, I'm just not gonna do it. But I wonder if jobs like this motivate us the most to pursue other means of employment. After all, you don't always have to know what you want to do, you sometimes just need to know what you don't want to do, and then take the lessons from each job with you as you go.