#23 Complete – I Love My Job!

We continue with our series of posts about at the things that were crossed off my list before this blog existed.

I added #23 – work at a job I love, or make the leap to self-employment – to The List when I was working at a job that I hated. It’s hard for me to say that because I don’t like to be so negative, but I really can’t sugar coat it, it was that bad. A trained monkey could have done what I did. 

I’ve had fantastic jobs for my whole working life, this one bad job aside. I lost a job that I loved because California’s schools have no money, and took a job in another district that was below my experience level just to have a job. When I was offered the position I called Aaron crying, because I knew I didnt want it, but we had a mortgage to pay. I convinced myself that it couldn’t be that bad and took it. My first day, after going through my ‘training’ to answer phones and the perils of the photocopier, I excused myself to the bathroom where I had a mild panic attack because I couldn’t believe that this was my life. I spent five months in that job; looking back, it’s true that I hated it, but it kept a roof over our heads and for that I am grateful.

Last January my good friend Brian suggested I try for a position at the private school he worked for. I got the job, and I was good at it. It was challenging, every day was different, and I was still working in education. What coulld be better?  I got my answer this past Spring. Before I left for my five-year anniversary with Aaron, our schools had our Spring programs which I got to watch and review. Thanks to my comments about the quality of hte singing, the Powers That Be at the top of our schools figured out that I had a background in music. Because of my experience on the corporate side of our schools, and my musical background, I came back from Hawaii to a brand new job offer. Now I get to work with teachers, teaching them how to teach their students to sing. I get to be in the classroom, working with students, improving teacher’s knowledge base. I make my own schedule, and every day is still different. While I still believe I was meant to teach (a feeling that is reinforced every time I start making a difference in a classes’ voices and all I want to do is stay with them forever), this is the best possible job that I never could have dreamed of myself. I say it all the time, I can’t believe they pay me to do what I do.

I never thought I’d be able to combine my love of teaching and music so soon. I prayed, so hard, for so long. I was unemployed, we ate through our savings, I worked a job that left me crying every night, moved to a new job when God opened the door, and was blessed more than I had hoped for or imagined. Thank you, Lord, for letting me cross #23 off of the list.

What was/is the best job you’ve ever had? Got any work horror stories? I want to hear them, so join the discussion!