My Life As I Recall: College Summer Job

My kids think that all I've ever been or done is be a stay at home mom. When C was little, I used to manage a small Christian bookstore run in our church. By the time M was in preschool, I decided that "part-time" and "managing" did not really work for our family or the store so I decided to forgo my "paying" job and stay home full time.

While I've never regretted the decision, I sometimes feel as if my kids are missing out on knowing a real part of me as a working, career woman.

As a way to keep the memories of my days among the employed fresh in my memory I thought I'd from time to time write down a few of my funniest, toughest and most interesting days out "there"in the world. I'm calling this My Life As I Recall....

Hey, I've had some interesting jobs. I've been to some very interesting places and, while I never really climbed the career ladder, I've certainly been in/or near some places of power. Along the way, I've been run over by a car, driven some very influential people around the state, sat in on some high powered meetings, and attended some neat events.

In my "former life" I've had jobs as a Senator's Wife's Driver and Aide, Personal Aide to a Governor, Runner in a Law firm, Fundraiser for a Non Profit, Christian Bookstore Worker and Manager, Popcorn Shop Worker, Nanny, Insurance Office Guru, Scheduler for a Senatorial Candidate, and a few more. I've seen the world of Republican politics in my state from so many different levels and, while I wish that my candidates had made it to Washington, one did make it to the Governor's Mansion and the others made a big impact on our state/country in many other ways. Someday, I might return to that life or watch it again close up. For now, however, I just go by mom.

Take 1: Summer Jobs in College

I was blessed not to have to have a job during the school year throughout most of my undergraduate years. My job according to my parents was school. However, it was expected that during the summer I would get a job and work either full or part time to gain experience and some money for the upcoming school year.

Following my freshman year, I came home for the summer and got a job for our county working in the Assessor's office downtown. My best friend's dad was the County Assessor at the time and, while she spent the summer working at the local Water Slide Park, I was working full time in an office in the auto tax division. I spent my summer alphabetizing car registrations. All summer long from 9 a.m to 5:00 p.m. with an hour for lunch and two 15 minute breaks a day, I alphabetized.

Needless to say, my little 19 year old self was the youngest in the office by decades and they were not thrilled with how quickly I was working.

To pass the time, I would go over to the courthouse on breaks and lunch to sit in on trials. I became good friends with the court administrator for various judges and they would call me when they had "good trials" to watch or when juries were coming back with a verdict. I decided that summer that I was going to Law School and would be like one of my heroes on LA Law with the swanky suits and challenging cases.

Two big lessons I learned that summer: (1) Stay in College, you don't want a job alphabetizing for the rest of your life. (2) Making friends with the people you work around makes your life much easier. By the end of the summer, I was allowed to work my breaks around court cases, I could take an early lunch to see a prisoner come into the courthouse all because I made friends with the right people and they got a kick out of watching my young self get so involved in the goings on in the courthouse. When I left for school in the fall, I had gotten two of the other workers hooked on the courthouse and they were reading murder mystery books and legal dramas, too!!

Hope you enjoy this look back. Next installment: The Political Bug Bites