then i wanted to be a teacher, what better way to spend my day than educating others…followed by a lawyer – i loved to argue…and win.  a novelist, a journalist, a writer – i am passionate about writing…

all these things had something in common…or so i thought.  i wanted to make my own schedules, do my own work and not sit in a cubicle all day.  teachers had summers off and they got done early in the day.  veterinarians owned their own practice and were their own boss.  novelists and writers worked when they had something to write about and journalists – they chased whatever news stories most interested them.  {keep in mind, i was a young}

you see, my mom worked in Corporate America.  she worked until 9, 10 or so at night, she worked most weekends and she hated it.  this was when i was young – elementary school, some in middle school.  i remember thinking how miserable her job must be because she worked so much and she worked in a small office and it just didn’t bring joy to her.

on the other hand, my two dads worked for themselves.  they both ran {successful – i assumed} heating and air conditioning companies.  they set their own schedules {for the most part} and they seemed to like what they did.  they worked on the weekends {by choice}.

in elementary school, one of the most influential experiences of my childhood was having papa home every day after school and having neighborhood kids over to play street hockey, basketball or soccer.  papa would play with us and all the kids {i assume} loved to come over and hang out with papa.

this was definitely  a better outlook on work than what my mom experienced in Corporate America.  i wanted this freedom, this choice in how my day would go and when i would be home.

fast forward a few years…since early life i just assumed i would run my own company.  i didn’t know what i would do or how i would do it, but i would do it.

fast forward a few more year…i’ve started to realize you can’t have EVERYTHING you want, i don’t know why yet, but you can’t.  🙂

so, i had decided if you can’t own your own business right out of high school or college, then there were a few things i wanted in the ideal job:

• corner office with a view {i wanted to be high above the street and be able to look out at what was going on below}
• a big title that meant a lot and meant i was important to the company
• a job where i didn’t have to punch a time clock or ask permission to use the restroom, go on lunch break or be worried about someone tracking every second of my time at work
• the freedom to spend time with family when i wanted and how i wanted
• a facility with a generous kitchen or break room area where i could prepare fresh meals if i so pleased
• a position in the company that mattered – i didn’t want to be just another number, i wanted to know that the work i did made a difference in how well the company fared
• time off without having to worry about counting the amount of days i had already taken or would need to take in the coming months
• the ability to choose what i wanted to do, learn what i wanted to learn and change it up when i wanted a change

i’m sure there is/was more, but these were the main things.  fast forward a little bit farther to today…

{this is where life laughs in your face}

i work in a small business, i have a corner office,  a window with a view over the street where i can see what all is happening below.  i have a big title “business manager” that means i am pretty important to the company {or so i like to think} and i know that i make a difference because there’s no one else to do my work.  i don’t punch a time clock, sadly i am late pretty much every day, though it is my goal to be on time by the time summer starts and i have to be here an hour earlier.  i don’t need to ask permission to do anything as long as i get my work done and i spend the mornings with papa, the evenings with mom, the afternoons with the kids and if anyone takes a day off or doesn’t have school, you can bet your bottom dollar they interact with me quite a bit while i work.

i have a fully stocked kitchen with cookware i can use at my disposal and if i ask my mom, she’ll even buy the food i want to eat for me {i try not to ask, i feel like that’s a little needy for my age}.  i am certainly not a number; with a company with only 4-5 people on average, it’s pretty obvious when i’m not in or when i call in sick.  as long as its not busy, i can pretty much take any day off i can afford.  since no one really likes to work holidays around here, i’m pretty much guaranteed holiday time off.  i certainly get to choose what i do on a day-to-day, week-to-week or month-to-month basis.  my main job is to answer the phone and make sure the guys are doing good.  other than that, i can choose the course of my work.  the best part is the ability to choose what i am able to learn as well.

i have learned so much in the last 10 months and it amazes me more every day.  right now i am learning about building websites, social media & marketing and reading a book over the ins and outs of QuickBooks so i can go from being a “user” to being an “expert” at it.  i have also and continue to learn so much about corporations and what it takes to make the transition from a sole proprietor to a c-corp.  and, don’t even get me started on taxes.  i feel like taxes – income, sales, employment, business and corporate taxes are a never ending funnel.  it looks like it gets smaller at the end, but really it keeps going on forever.

so, thank you universe.  i am not living out my dream job, but maybe that is a good thing.  i am learning so much, and really, have all of my “must haves” in a non-dream job.  i’ll take a few moments to laugh with you.