BOARD BARN SUMMERS

I'm happy to report that my kids all have summer jobs. Emily is working 8-5 for an architect...hello, real world...but she has Fridays off. Rachel is babysitting a few days a week for some kids she loves, and by babysitting I mean she watches old Disney movies with them. David is working for the rec commission as a scorekeeper, and is scheduled for all of FOUR games throughout the summer. Now there's a tough gig.

When I was in high school, I worked at the "Board Barn", which was a place that made wooden items that were in demand back in the 70's when crafts were big. I ran the router, the drill press, and the scrollsaw, but my specialty was the jigsaw. I cut out a LOT of big wooden letters on that jigsaw and broke very few blades. Today, you might say I was a "beast" on that machine.

For the most part, this was a pretty cushy job, and coveted by other high school students. At least by those that liked the smell of sawdust. The only real down side was that the place was not air conditioned, so I remember sweating a lot. But I cooled off, sort of, by taking a two-hour break every afternoon, during which I would meet my friend Jo at the tennis courts. I didn’t get paid for these breaks, needless to say, and my mother frowned upon them for some reason. But thanks to all those hours on the court, I developed a savage tan and a wicked backhand. Then in college, I won several intramural tournaments and have a box of trophies to prove it. So you see, summer jobs can be important to your success later in life.

Of course, now I don't know one end of a jigsaw from the other, and can hardly hit a tennis ball to save my life. Not that I've been asked to. But the point is, that summer job provided me some great memories, not to mention something to say when I'm playing those party games where you have tell a little-known fact about yourself. And my children are creating some of those memories now, and I like that.

I had a Hamburger Happy Meal for lunch and am sorry to have to tell you that.