If you weren't singing that song immediately upon reading the title of my post, I'm sure you are now. And you'll probably be lying in bed with it running through your mind..it sticks with you.
Anyhoo...in honor of Labor Day yesterday, this post is dedicated to just that. Work. I have been working full-time (really, more than full-time) since I was 17. Sure, I was not as young as some when I got my first job, but I think 17 is a decent age. And if you count babysitting, I've been working since I was 13. But in my 18 years of full-time employment, I've only had 3 jobs. It sure is easy to complain about work, and I've certainly done my fair share. But when I reflect on those jobs, I am ETERNALLY grateful. They have given me some of the best people and therefore some of the best moments in my life!
Job #1 = Pizza Hut: August 1998-January 2001
I was 17 and a senior in High School. I had been turning in applications all summer long (Albertson's, McDonald's, Sears, Golden Corral, etc.) with no luck. Then finally, one Monday evening after marching band practice I went to turn in my 30th (yes, 30th) application at Pizza Hut on my way home. I was just planning on running in and out to drop it off really quickly, as I was sweaty and gross after practice. But when do things ever go as planned? I go in to turn in my application and the manager on duty was a man named Jamie. He takes the application and tells me to go have a seat in a booth. We have a brief interview (more of a conversation, really), and he hired me there on the spot. WHEW! I was stoked! I started a few days later as a CSR (customer service rep, AKA phone girl). I answered those phones like a BOSS and was quickly promoted to waitress. This is where I had the most fun. It was just Pizza Hut, so it wasn't as chaotic as I'm sure being a waitress at a full-service restaurant is, but I still got really good at multitasking. They had a jukebox that I could play the most awesome of songs on (my favorites were Here I Go Again, I Will Survive, and Janet Jackson's IF). I made pretty decent tips, had some "regulars", and even got to flirt a little while I was at it. But most importantly, this is where I met Cakes. I was waiting tables when he came in to interview for a job as a delivery driver. He got the job and we instantly clicked. I thought he was hilarious and maybe a little wild. And while I put him off for a while because I was having so much fun being friends, he wore me down, got me to say yes, and they rest (as they say) is history. So, not only was this a great first job that taught me a lot about dealing with difficult people, time management, and that the harder you work the bigger the payoff is. But it is also the place that set the rest of my life in motion.
Job #2 = US Vision (JC Penney Optical): January 2001-April 2003
I was 19 years old and had just moved to Denton in order to go to UNT. Again, I had turned in many applications with no luck. Luckily Kevin's brother, Joel, happened to know someone who lived here. He talked to her and while they weren't hiring at the JC Penney Optical that she worked at here in Denton, they were hiring at the one 20 minutes down the road in Lewisville. So she (Becky was her name) hooked me up with an interview. And thankfully, I got the job. I was SO glad! Classes were about to start, and I had been running out of options. Well, not long after I started there was a big US Vision meeting that all of the employees needed to go to. There was me and one other guy at the JC Penney location, but there were a couple of other people from the Royal Optical (also owned by US Vision) in the mall that needed to go. We were going to carpool, and this girl named Ashley from the Royal Optical volunteered to drive. I can't pinpoint what it was exactly; maybe it was her no filter/over sharing/honesty/sense of humor, or my quiet/no judgment/good listening/sense of humor, or some perfect combination. But in some opposites attract sort of way, we found something in each other that we each needed, and we've been friends ever since. She was in my wedding. Our boys have been friends since they were babies (yeah, sure maybe it was forced at first, but it's actually really genuine now). Our daughters love hanging out, too (even though they're 10 years apart). So, not only was this a job that taught me how to match people's faces to glasses and put on contacts, but it is also the place that gave us an extension of our family.
Job #3 = Denton ISD: August 2004-Present
I was 23 years old, and I had been applying for and interviewing for jobs all summer long. I was also 3 months pregnant with Mason. School was starting tomorrow, and I still didn't have a job. I was pregnant with baby number two, unemployed, had no prospects in sight, and was panicked. That afternoon, I got a call from a school here in Denton offering me a 2nd grade teaching position. Of course, I accepted, but with school starting the next day I had a whole new kind of panic. They were giving me the first 4 days of the school year to set up my classroom in the former teacher's lounge, and I would be receiving my students the second week of school. It was a baptism by fire, and I had a challenging group, but I had a good team of teachers to help me through it. Towards the end of the year, we found out that some of us teachers would have to be transferred to the the new school that was opening up. And since I was the last one hired, I was the first to go. I was not super excited about it. I had just gotten used to things at this place. I had just set up my classroom, and was not looking forward to having to tear it all down and set it up again someplace else. But at least it was closer to home. This transfer to this place that I was kind of bummed about having to go to turned out to be a huge blessing! This is the place that has helped me (emotionally, prayerfully, and even financially) through my life with Leukemia. This is the place that has given me opportunities: to be patient, to grow, to learn, to improve, to be challenged, to be frustrated, to be meaningful, to care, to both fail and succeed. This is the place that has brought me an amazing group of friends (while only 3 of us are still at the school and none of us teach the same grade anymore) that have given me a plethora of amazing memories: Karen, Tosha, Katie, Kristin, Angela, and Melanie. In the words of Alan on The Hangover: "We're the
So those are the three jobs that I've had. Now, technically, I did spend a few months working part-time at Sylvan, but Since is was just a few months and it wasn't full-time, I didn't feel the need to include it.
I'm going to end the post by talking, briefly, about 2 of Kevin's jobs that have also brought some important people into our lives:
Pizza Hut and Arby's
We've already discussed how Pizza Hut in Abilene brought Cakes and me together, Well, when we moved here to Denton and I was working at JC Penney, Kevin was working at Pizza Hut (first in Lewisville and then in Corinth). It was his time at the Corinth location that brought us Micah. And because of Micah, it brought us Elliott. I cannot even begin to count all of the fun and laughs that these two have given us. Sure, maybe the three of them have caused a bit of trouble here and there, but I guess they're worth it. :) And after Pizza Hut, came Arby's. Arby's brought us Matthew and his family. His family included a boy Mason's age who became a close friend to him and another godson for Cakes and me. We spend every Easter with his family, share birthdays together, and even recently shared a graduation!
So, here's a heartfelt THANK YOU to all of the work that has brought us so many blessings along the way!!
