Since leaving school at 17, I have had a number of different jobs. My first job was at a local supermarket that was just opening in the town. It was the largest store in the area, and as well as being a regular grocery store, it also sold items such as washing machines and fridges. My job was on the check-outs, and then I progressed to working in the Handy bank / customer service section of the store. This meant that I now answered the phone, dealt with customer complaints, and customer cheques (how old fashioned that seems now, in a world full of plastic cards!). I loved my first job, and made a lot of friends, many of whom are on my Facebook page today.
I worked in the retail store until I was 25. This was the year 1989, in which I got married. I remember feeling such a ‘married woman’ when I wrote a different signature on my cheques. Looking back, the year I got married was when I felt ‘grown up.’ I had always lived at home, and now I was paying bills, buying groceries, signing cheques (as a ‘Mrs’) and paying a mortgage. To reflect this new status in life, I looked for another job. So, I worked in a factory for a few months (barely remember working there, just remember that my cousin worked there too!), until I found a job as an assistant manager of a store. This was the second job that I loved, as I had a free hand to run the store, and 5 staff to boss around! (I was very fair). I worked there until I had my kids, and loved this job too.
My ‘mummy role’ when I had Liam and Jess, occurred in my thirties. By this time the joy of working could not compete with my joy in being a mum. Now, I did not care for staff rotas, orders, cashing up and stock taking; I had replaced this with nappies, feeds, sleepless nights – and loved doing it all!  I took various jobs at this time (and up until this present day really), because no role can compare with hanging around with and caring for my kids.
I had an evening job at Makro, which was a large retail store that catered for small business people – liked it there; I had a carer’s job in which I travelled around the area in which I lived and cooked, cleaned, toileted people and generally cared for them – this was a lovely rewarding job. My care job lead me into my nursing role, leading to my interest in studying, as I studied for a nursing degree (which I didn’t complete as we moved to Australia!), and then studied my BA degree in English and History in Australia – loved my studies!
As of today, I am studying a library diploma, and have embarked on a writing path. Still not sure where it will lead, but I am enjoying every moment of writing and hope to publish some of my work in the future. Fingers crossed!!