Labor Day, 2010

HAPPY LABOR DAY!


Hope those who are fortunate enough to have a holiday from the job are having a safe and fun day.

We, of course, are retired, but in reflecting on our work lives, we both have enjoyed a variety of occupations over the years. Among other things, Hubbie has worked in the food industry, as a farmer, and as a counselor for the blind with a state agency (the job from which he retired).

My work life has been more varied. At a very young age, around ten years old, I was interested only in making enough to pay my and my siblings way into movies, which I was able to do by collecting soft drink bottles and turning them in for the deposit (a thing you could do in the early 1950s).

As a young teenager (around thirteen years old), I babysat children, and acted as a companion and assistant to an elderly person. At fourteen, I worked as a waitress at a restaurant not far from our home. At that job, I was cautioned to say I was sixteen if ever asked. No one ever asked.

I continued babysitting through my high school days, but also worked for a short time as a bookkeeper (a job that didn't last long, because I was so terrible at it), and at a pastry shop (a job I enjoyed, and where I learned how to make change...a skill that has died with computerized cash registers).

Then as a young married adult, I again worked in the food industry for a while, before being employed by the WDCS for a time. After that, I took a hiatus to stay home with my children until they entered school.

A divorce meant that I needed employment that would not only earn me a wage, but would offer health insurance for my growing family. I took a nine-month course in secretarial science, after which I became employed as a stenographer with a state agency for the blind (the same one my husband retired from). Here, I was able to rise through the secretarial ranks to assistant to the boss.

After nine years, I resigned my job to marry my current husband. After a few years, I was back in school again...college this time...and upon graduation, I worked as a photo-journalist until I accepted a position as a job placement specialist with a state agency.

Spent five years at that job, before resigning. After that, I worked (and still work) in jobs relating to photo-journalism, including teaching freshman level photography at a local college, teaching photography to high school students in a summer on-campus program, working as a reporter for both our local and state newspapers, and from time-to-time conducting week-long photography workshops around the state in middle schools, museums and other places (which I still do).

Each job had its lessons to be used in the next job. Collecting bottles for money gave me a sense of independence and a need to earn my own money; working with children and the elderly helped me think of others' needs; working as a secretary gave me organizational skills, and made me aware of the abilities of people with disabilities, which made me more suited as a job placement specialist to people with disabilities; and all of the jobs helped me be outgoing, creative, and curious...all traits needed in a photo-journalist, as well as a teacher.