Happy Friday, my friends! I hope you’ve
had a good week. We had a most beautiful night here last night. Such a gorgeous
sunset! It made me want to write, which is helpful since today is writing
prompt day here in this little corner of the web.
In
some of the previous weeks, we’ve talked about how quickly life changes and how
taking pictures/writing about your life helps preserve the way things looked at
any given point in your life. And today we want to take a look at what your first
job looked like.
What
was your first job?
How old were you when you took it?
How did you find it?
Did you like it?
How much did you earn?
How long did you work there?
Why did you leave?
I’m sure most of you probably already know my first job, because I’ve
talked about it often. I was a babysitter!
I
always loved kids, and even when I was nine or ten years old, I would help in
the church nursery, watching babies and toddlers. I think my first actual
paying babysitting job came when I was about twelve. I remember a lot about
that first job.
My
niece was just a few months old, and my sister needed to go somewhere for about
an hour. She asked if I would babysit until my brother-in-law got home from
work. Mom picked me up from school, took me out to The Comet Cone (local hamburger/ice
cream restaurant) for a Coke. I was so nervous. She drove me over to my
sister’s, and I spent an hour in charge of my niece. My brother-in-law was a
pastor and was in his office right next door to the house, so if I needed
anything, he could be there in about 30 seconds.
The
hour went very well, and it served as the start of a multi-year babysitting
career. I ended up with a handful of “regulars” – mostly from church. Every now
and then I would babysit for a random family that asked, but for the most part,
I stayed busy with the same three or four families.
I
almost always loved this job. I loved that I had regular work, but if I had
something else going on, I could always turn down a job. I loved that it gave
me something to do on the weekends. I loved working for great families. One
summer I had the opportunity to watch two girls every single day from 8-5. That
was the best money I’d ever seen!
One
of the families I babysat for was a single mom whose husband had unexpectedly
passed away when their daughter was just six weeks old. Sometimes she would go
away overnight and I’d watch the kids for her. She had cable TV, and I thought that
was the best bonus pay ever. After the kids went to bed, I could watch Nick at
Night for hours!
What
did I earn? Are you ready for it? Two dollars an hour. I thought I was
rich!
I
babysat all the way through junior high and high school and did some during
college as well. Then I found my job in the Financial Aid Office and didn’t
babysit nearly as often. I didn’t really leave sitting as much as I
phased out of it and into something more consistent and higher paying.
It
was the perfect first job for me, and as I look back at it now, I see it
prepared me well for working independently and in a freelance fashion. There
are some similarities to that schedule and my speaking schedule now.
So
how about you? First job?
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