I've begun a writing project for The High Calling. I'm going to write about every job I've ever had. I started with my first job and am working my way from there. We'll see how far I get. I've have a LOT of jobs over the years. I grew up in a working family, and I began working in 6th grade. Along the way I've done everything from bagging groceries to driving forklifts.

This piece is about my second job. I wrote about my first job here.

My Second Job

My second job, like my lawn-mowing gig, was arranged by my father. A local daycare center needed a janitor to come in every evening and do some cleaning. There was a tile hallway, five or six classrooms, and a couple of restrooms. In return for cleaning these, I would be paid four dollars an hour for two hours of work each day. That was a little more than minimum wage at the time, so I took home about $150 a month. It seemed like a fortune.

My specific duties were clearly laid out for me. I was to empty the trash, vacuum all of the classrooms, sweep and mop the hall as needed, and clean the bathrooms. I wasn't sure what they expected me to do when it came to the tile bathroom floors and hall. Along the baseboards and around the bottoms of the toilets, the tiles were dingy and not very clean. Did they expect me to make the floors spotless or simply maintain them as they were when I began the job? ...Click here to read more.

rlp

.

I've begun a writing project for The High Calling for which I'm going to write about every job I've ever had. Well, I'm starting with my first job and working my way from there. Who knows how far I will ultimately get. The High Calling Blog Network is seeking stories of lessons learned in odd jobs. You can read about that here.

I grew up in a working family, and I began working in 6th grade. Along the way I've done everything from bagging groceries to driving forklifts.

The professional writing I do for The High Calling is a little different from the free-wheeling style of rlp. For one thing, I'm searching for the lessons in the stories.

Here is the first. The second is done, submitted, and will be online soon.

My First Job

In the summer of 1974, just after I completed the sixth grade, my father came home with a box of business cards for me. They read:

I thought it was pretty cool to be 12-years-old and have my own business cards. But when he told me that I had to walk around the neighborhood passing them out, I must admit that my excitement lessened considerably. Click here to read more.