Workin Fool I Am

One of my favorite blogger-reads, Coming to a Nursery Near You, is hosted by Dawn. And Dawn wayyy last week tagged me for eight things. So it goes, I always fall behind on tags and don't know why--I really like doing them! Sometimes it's because I get a thought stuck in my head and can't blog on until I've talked about it (hence the whole indignant rock star wife post).

So Dawn, here ya go! I know, it's very interesting (not!) stuff I do:

Eight Jobs I Have Held

1. My dad owned a pharmacy in our town and for years there was a soda fountain , complete with old fashioned malts, cherry phosphates, chocolate colas, you name it. I was lucky enough to be taken under the wing of an amazing woman who worked at the fountain, Catherine. Catherine even made me my own smock, I wore proudly on the days I worked at 'the store'. I wish I knew then that those were amazing times....to a little girl, it was just life...my escape from the house to be with my dad. I could look back to the back of the store and see my father's eyes peering over the pharmacy shelves where he filled prescriptions. And I saw love in those blue eyes. I didn't get that love in all parts of my life, so the love of my father was the best part of my life.
   
2. I eventually grew older, had little time to hang out with Catherine. I got my driver's license, so my father let me make deliveries for him. (small town pharmacy). For awhile, I enjoyed that, making deliveries with my dad was where I developed my love of elderly in nursing homes. My first taste of their nonsensical babble, their arms reaching out to touch me, their confused hollers for help in the hall, was walking down the halls next to Dad. And I watched his kindness, I saw him interract with them as if he had all the time in the world. Yet, somewhere along the way, at about nearly 17, I grew weary of the time it took to deliver to the lonely woman on Main Street, the hypochondriac on the county road. They talked and talked and talked. And I had friends to meet. So...I quit. Regret that. Very much.
   
3. My need for cash drove me to my first 'real' job. I was a waitress at The Golden Corral. It was on the Belt Highway in St. Joseph, and it was truly a drag to have to work on Friday night and see my friends driving up and down the loop without me. Eventually I would even see my first serious boyfriend drive up the loop,knowing very well he would eventually drive down the loop with another girl in his car. Long story--he was four years older than I was. That's what sometimes happens to teenage girls when their parents are engrossed in a bitter divorce.
   
4. Went off to college and said divorce was settled, yet nobody could decide who would cover the spending money for both Jamee and myself. Dad's new wife (use that term loosely) discouraged him from helping beyond the child support. Which my mother needed to get her life on track. So....I was a debt collector. Yeah. Not a lot of fun and I got in trouble all the time. They don't like it when you tell debtors that you understand, pay when you can, lol. (by the way, collectors use pseudonyms when they call....usually they're hilarious, like Rob Balboa or something hardass. something to make you giggle about if they call).
   
5. Kelly Girl. Had a lot of fun with that, always something new.
   
6. Customer Service Representative (glorified secretary). Where I met my husband, John. He was in the drafting department and came around often to visit!
   
7. Custom framer at a craft store. Not a big retail store lover. Off and on there for about two years while the kids were young (evenings).
   
8. Data Entry Queen (ha!). That's me now. I get to work at home....I get no weekends off...but I get to work at home. And it's eh, okay I guess. I'd rather be sewing. Or cross stitching.

And because I'm a momma, you know I didn't leave that off! I know very well that's the biggie. The CEO of all CEOs. And defintiely the most interesting thing I've done with my life. Maybe not always my best work. But always with my best intentions.

And now....I am off to tag on this one. If you've already done it, then change it to eight other facts about you if you want! I'm tagging GiGi at Girl Gone Wild--she doesn't have anything else to do. D at Just Call Me Part of the USO. And hmmm.....I know it's been awhile since we've heard from Pilot John....let's see if he'll do it too. I'm betting no, he's a very serious guy. But ya'll know the excuse to head over and see is worth the effort, lol!