Does any teenager actually enjoy his/her summer job? For the past two months, my 19-year-old son (H) has been chopping wood, pulling weeds, and cutting grass in the blazing hot sun and oppressive humidity as a landscaper’s assistant. Every day, he comes home covered in dirt and grass (and hopefully not ticks); he’s filthy, sweaty, smelly, and exhausted — Rightfully so, given it’s been hot AF all summer. It’s not the most glamorous summer gig, but the owner doesn’t mind when he needs a day off (to work his second job as lacrosse event staff or for a long weekend jaunt with friends). Plus, it was the only job he could get on short notice, since he didn’t plan ahead (Shocker!) and he needs the money.
H has had a handful of other summer jobs over the years, all with their own pros and cons: Last year, he worked demolition/construction (hard work/early days, but short-lived); the summer before, he was an assembly line worker (long hours standing in one place, but lots of free popsicles); and the summer before that, he was a health store juicer (monotonous and boring, but at least it was air conditioned).
I don’t remember my summer jobs being as laborious as his. Then again, I had a hard time remember what my summer jobs were when I sat down to write this. I know I had summer jobs. My parents weren’t keen on me sitting by the pool or going to the beach every day, so I know I worked. And I know most of my jobs were with my high school bestie, Carin. But it took two conversations with her and confirmation from my sister (my mother was no help — her memory is worse than mine!) to remember what those jobs were, and in what order they occurred.
During high school, Carin and I were camp counselors one summer, then jewelry store employees another summer (I was in “the vault” counting loose gemstones, and she was “out front” tying bows in preparation for gift wrapping requests), and retail workers another summer (I worked in the Five Towns shopping district and she worked in the local mall).
None of these jobs were enjoyable, but they also weren’t hard.
The summer after freshman year of college, we had an office job together, doing data entry for a shoe manufacturer. We were isolated in a basement room, so mostly we talked, laughed, and listened to the radio … And we may or may not have broken a keyboard or two.
After that, it’s a little hazy. Neither of us can remember what she did for the next two summers, and we think I worked both summers in the call center of my (now) brother-in-law’s collection agency. Because I was the only one who understood the Massachusetts accident and could spell all the town names, I was a shoe-in to come back. Plus, the boss was dating my sister.
Needless to say, we were not breaking our backs or breaking a sweat (even during our hot camp counselor days, we had swim breaks and indoor craft time). Maybe it’s a boy-girl thing, but we had it easy in comparison.
I like to think that all these manual labor jobs are teaching my kid skills that will serve him later in life, even if he doesn’t see it right now. At the very least, it will make him appreciate how lucky he is to have central air conditioning at home.
-LJDT
