My summer job, how do I say it nicely, is not my favorite thing. :) There, that wasn't so bad. Even though it is not my favorite I am sure that in some ways it is good for me. Rolling out of bed in time to leave by 5 a.m. has taken much complaining, er I mean discipline, to accomplish. The 5:30 lap swimmers have just had to get used to my questions, "So you really don't mind getting up and swimming this early?" or "Are you sure you are awake?".My favorite part about the job, besides the pay check *grin*, is the morning ritual that has developed. I arrive a few minutes early, unlock everything, and allowing swimmers in. Then I greet my first "customers" for the day and then go about taking chemical tests (takes all of one minute, but is a exciting moment none the less). Then as swimmers leave and arrive I greet them, chatting with some, welcoming some by name, others just allowing them to be in their (what I will nicely interpret as a morning haze or embarrassment to be seen in their swimsuit and not rudeness) little world and not welcome. Two people have emerged as my favorites, an older man in his early seventies, a Christian. He always greeting me with a smile, even at 5:30, and usually beats me with the socially correct question of, "How are you?" Another lady, who just had her eighty-fourth birthday last week, greets me with a good morning and a pat on the arm as I escort her to the pool. Other people have been fun to get to know as well: a lady who has homeschooled for years and is now reconsidering (I got to encourage her that it really is a good thing, I appreciate that my parents stuck to it), a high school girl who swims before heading out to the raspberry fields, and the girl at the front desk who sometimes I bug for company to help keep me awake.
Work is a good thing, we are designed to want a purpose, so for the next little while I am going to try to keep working on being content as a bump on a log in a red Y lifeguard shirt. Meanwhile, my blog readers, please ignore any yawns that you see, comments that are a bit "fuzzy", or more long rambling sentences than normal...my brain is waking up earlier than it is used to.
2 comments:
Wow- that takes something more than discipline... perseverence? Good for you Shelby!! I guess I'm also getting up early, but I'm not heading toward a wet environment!! :)
You poor dearie. I'm sorry. It is funny the people you meet and relationships you form even when you don't like the job. I tried to focus on those in my job. Its tough dearie. Kudos!
Post a Comment