Will Work … - 40 Days of Thankfulness

This is the final week of my 3-week stint at the cupcake shop. It’s disappointing, but the owner is closing her brick-and-mortar to work again from her home kitchen and spend more time with her wee ones.

I’ve really enjoyed my time there, but all things must come to an end. Now, with winter approaching (it feels like it’s upon us to me) I am still looking for more and more freelance and to get my Etsy shop going.

But what am I thankful for? I am thankful that I can work and that even if jobs are few and far between we will be OK. I’ve met people who because of a physical or mental disability it’s hard to find work. Their tasks are what many would consider menial, but washing dishes, packing candy or sweeping sidewalks are things that we expect to be done, though some feel they don’t want to do it.

I am thankful that I have had, and hope to continue, my career. Having a job and having a career are two very different things. However, what would be one person’s job could be another person’s career. For instance, Brandy, the owner of the cupcake store has a career as a baker and cake decorator. It’s a great career. To someone else, say a person working at Dunkin Donuts, this would be a job to cover their expenses while in college or pursuing some other interest.

It’s my job to do the menial stuff like washing dishes, cleaning counters, mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms when I’m not serving customers. And I do it gladly. I’ve known people who cry that they don’t have enough income then when offered a job for $10 an hour scoff at the indecency of someone suggesting such a thing. I work hard and after 5 hours I am pretty tired, much more than when I was writing copy at a comfy desk, but my brain wants to solve problems, create new things and expand the world. I miss my career.

But I am thankful for this opportunity and I did pick up a few baking tricks that I promised I would keep secret. It’s been a fun ride.