Tuesday, May 5, 2015

All in a Day's Work

I got my first job when I was 11. I babysat for our neighbors while they went to the Sugar Bowl and earned enough to buy the album "Grease!" I still regret not buying "Sgt. Pepper" which I am pretty sure would be a collector's item by now, but that's another blog. 

I babysat quite a lot after that. I got a job at 15 working at Bonanza Steak House. And, I spent some time in the press room at the newspaper inserting ads into the paper. 

I graduated high school at 17 and since it would be 7 months before I turned 18 I had a hard time finding a "real job." I neglected to tell my parents I had been offered the Choral Scholarship and turned it down because I wanted to take a break from school. Yeah, dumb move, I know. When I finally did tell my Mom 15 years later she almost whipped my tail. 

Finally, in January of the next year I went to work at the newspaper helping in accounting where one of the girls was out getting ready for her wedding. I loved it. My Dad was the Vice President of the newspaper group but that didn't mean I had it made, that meant I was expected to work harder. Ms. Linda, my supervisor, let me go home early one day because we were caught up and I wasn't feeling well. I really wasn't feeling well after Dad got home. Believe me, the only way I would have missed after that was if I was on a trip to the morgue. Haha

I worked up until Ethan was born. We had moved to Georgia from Louisiana and it just made sense for me to stay home. When he turned a year old I started college. Bobby and I both had up to three jobs apiece while I went to school. 

One of my jobs was a DJ for a country station. My radio name was KC Lee and that is literally what cured me of my shyness I had dealt with my whole life. 

I graduated college and passed my Nursing exam, received my RN license, and started working in Labor and Delivery in Sept. Of 1995. 

I guess you think the point of all of this is to brag, but it's not. At all. And, I'm not trying to give you my resume. 

I was raised that if you had a need you got out and worked to fill that need. All those years ago we decided we wanted to provide a good life for our children. That was my motivation. 

You see, my children didn't ask to be born. They were a gift to me and their Dad. And we saw each day with them that way. 

We raised them to believe in hard work. And they have both worked hard to get to where they are. 

So, here I am. I don't have much but everything I have I have worked for. And I have worked at every job to provide the best of me for those who have trusted me enough to hire me. 

Today, I was able to see some of my hard work pay off and it thrilled me. I can't even begin to explain the satisfaction I feel. 

There is something to be said for giving your all, for earning your own way, not relying on someone else to keep your head above water. 

I cannot for the life of me understand, as a mother, someone who would sentence their child to an existence instead of providing their child a future. I want my children to be proud of me, to be proud of the woman I am. Someday when I am gone from here I don't want them to look at my life and the choices I have made and feel ashamed of the person I was. 

So, if you don't like where you are, take heart. Until you exist no more you have the power to change your circumstances.  I now find myself in a place where I can make a difference, where I can cause change, and where I can grow and prosper. 

And, I will. My story is far from over. This is a new chapter being written. I can't wait to see the plot unfold. 

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