Is it possible to feel like what your job actually feels like play?<\/p>\n
Growing up, I didn’t\u00a0know that was possible, but jobs look glamorous through a child’s eyes.\u00a0 I\u00a0thought my parents’ jobs looked cool.\u00a0 They looked really fun.\u00a0 My dad was a bartender.\u00a0 That soda gun with different flavor was power, baby.\u00a0 He had limitless maraschino cherries, lemons, olives and….SODA!!!\u00a0 I loved eating olives and still do.\u00a0 Only now in my martinis.\u00a0 Back then, I wanted bottomless Shirley Temples. Those pink drinks I’d raise my glass for a refill as often as I was allowed.\u00a0 All the waitresses were older and very loving in the Italian restaurant in Center City Philadelphia.\u00a0 I even loved the coat check lady, Diane.\u00a0 They made such a fuss over me and my little sister.\u00a0 I loved getting dressed up and going out to restaurants.\u00a0 Who doesn’t?<\/p>\n
My mom also worked in Center City Philadelphia.\u00a0 She was a manager at Bell Atlantic, the telephone company.\u00a0 She was a boss.\u00a0 She was a pioneer in my mind for being strong and smart, while still being kind and a woman.\u00a0\u00a0She wore the power suits in the eighties and I idolized her.\u00a0 And I always will.\u00a0 She would let\u00a0us visit her work and spend some time there which was so magical.\u00a0 Going up on the elevator to the higher floors was like being on a TV show in my pre-internet mind, I-just-play-in-my-Barbies mind.\u00a0 Sitting at her desk and looking down below to the street where cars looked so small made me feel like a giant.\u00a0 As we walked the hall (little kids are not very common in office buildings) people treated us like we were celebrities.\u00a0 Plus, we were cute.\u00a0 I have to say the highlight though was the office supply room.\u00a0 I’ll take some pens please.\u00a0 Black, blue, and yes colored paper clips are the jackpot.\u00a0 The BEST part was using the copy machine to photocopy my hand.\u00a0 It seemed like a\u00a0dream job.<\/p>\n
I would play teacher often as a kid and I’d always change my name.\u00a0 I thought I’d marry Michael Jackson eventually.\u00a0 My Barbie playing always included fashion, friends, and being in love.\u00a0 I lived in a world of play as a child and had a great imagination and people skills.\u00a0 I thought I’d be a star, cause doesn’t every kid think they’re special.\u00a0 Some things never change, except the Michael Jackson part. \u00a0I don’t know what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I always knew I’d be a mom.\u00a0 Never thought I’d have five kids though.<\/p>\n
Fast forward to picking a career.\u00a0 I tried psychology for a semester in college and then Culinary school.\u00a0 I got pregnant at nineteen and was a cook, hostess, and waitress.\u00a0 I set up make-up at a drugstore.\u00a0 I sold home goods.\u00a0 I stayed at home with the kids and didn’t know what my career would be or if I’d be anything beyond a stay-at-home mom.\u00a0 I decided I wanted to write.\u00a0 But didn’t think of it as anything but play.\u00a0 It was a hobby.\u00a0 I didn’t think I was smart enough to be an actual writer.<\/p>\n
I wrote because it was fulfilling me.\u00a0 It was also an escape from the same day syndrome of cleaning, dishes, laundry, school pick up, talk about the weather.\u00a0 Writing my novel opened up a world to me.\u00a0 Once that door opened in my mind, writing fiction lead me to writing blogs.\u00a0 I gave author talks and realized I could actually teach what I’ve learned.\u00a0 Being open to play and not being afraid to work means the world is my oyster.\u00a0 I’ve taken my writings and saw they belonged in a few books…which are to come.\u00a0 My first non-fiction book will be coming out January 8th and I am getting more excited by the day.\u00a0 I love inspiring, uplifting, and empowering others. \u00a0I am going to be able to work and play my whole life.\u00a0 Writing is both.\u00a0 What about you?\u00a0 What can you do that is both work and play?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Is it possible to feel like what your job actually feels like play? Growing up, I didn’t\u00a0know that was possible, but jobs look glamorous through a child’s eyes.\u00a0 I\u00a0thought my parents’ jobs looked cool.\u00a0 They looked really fun.\u00a0 My dad was a bartender.\u00a0 That soda gun with different flavor was power, baby.\u00a0 He had limitless…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":568,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[47,44,49,43,48,42,31],"class_list":["post-254","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-80s","tag-books","tag-career","tag-play","tag-stay-at-home-mom","tag-work","tag-writing"],"yoast_head":"\n