Can you remember your first job? I can. It was the summer between grade 8 and 9 and my mom got me hooked up to be a clothes steamer at a Ports International store in Ottawa. I was SO excited to be able to work (was that even legal?) and make some dough. I lasted about an hour. I woke up on a table being fanned by a slew of older women, who smelled delicious and looked slightly troubled. It was then we discovered that I have an issue with the smell of hot wool maybe? I passed out about 3 suits in and I still get woozy if I smell clothes being steamed. What an awesome excuse not to iron!
I was a mother’s helper before that to triplets (nice birth control move). And after, I followed in my siblings footsteps and donned the brown polyester to work at Baskin and Robbins. I loved it. And yes, I ate a ton of ice cream and if you need to know, the best milkshake is strawberry/banana.
On to now. Fact. Will is spoiled. He doesn’t lack for a thing thanks to his aunts and yes, sometimes his mother. Lately, I feel like he doesn’t quite grasp that Lego sets don’t magically show up by UPS all the time. Last week he said, ‘I think we need a new car that has a sun roof.’ I told him that he should get a job stat so he could pay for it then. So he asked if he could babysit. I explained the logic that he was a bit young. And I could see the gerbils hop on the wheel and he was thinking.
When I relayed the story at work, my friend said, well if he wants a job picking up poop in my backyard, we’d gladly pay him. BINGO.
I went home and told him and he was totally in. He woke me up on Saturday, ‘it’s the first day of my new job!’. And he didn’t let up until Sunday afternoon when in the drizzling rain, we headed over and picked up a bag full of Bucky the bulldog’s poop. My friend handed him $7. He was glowing. Off we went to Toys r Us where he got one mini-figure bag ($4) and home we went to deposit the $3 into his new ‘poop piggy bank’.
An entrepreneur has been born. He quickly figured out that if he did this for more people, he could make more money. So, if you live in our hood and see and flyer for ‘i WILL pick up poop’ in your mailbox, you’ll know it’s from a little seven year-old, who is making money and practicing for the day when we have our own dog. (Distribution will begin when he can walk again).
I’m super proud of him. So is his business-minded grandpa who of course said ‘he should have charged $10!’
One day I feel I’ll see him at the stage at the Oscars saying, ‘I remember when I was just a boy and my mom got me my first job cleaning up dog s&^t.’ and they’ll pan over to Bradley Cooper who will giggle and think, that’s adorable I have to meet his mom. What. Wait?
awesome!!! and gross 🙂