I for the last 12 years have either worked with children or animals. I have been a nanny, home teacher, tutor, after school provider etc. I have also done pet sitting and dog walking. No matter how many degrees I have, I would rather work with these populations than working with adults. I mean of course animals are a cake walk outside of cleaning up their poop and kids have their challenges and tantrums. But I would rather deal with that than work with adults.

I feel that working with people in or near my age group is tricky. Either there is a competition because I am younger than they are, or we have nothing in common because they are younger and we are at different stages. Or, I just can’t relate to the people. I often enjoy working with men more than women and I hate to say that, but it is just so much easier.

I of course have had friends on jobs, but I don’t necessarily enjoy the company of these people. A lot of times it is a political thing. Be nice to your supervisor so that there is job security. Or be nice to your office mate so that they will have your back. Another one is be nice to everyone so that you won’t be the person to be gossiped about. But, then it is not wise to be too nice because people will take advantage and expect favors.

I am the entrepreneur kind of person who really does like people, but the group dynamics are not my favorite. It is reminiscent of middle school days when I was trying to find my place somewhere in between the super popular girls and the nerds. I had friends in both groups but did not quite fit anywhere.

I don’t know if it is because I spent 5 years working for myself or if kids are just cooler people. I really enjoy seeing their personalities develop and kids can be very funny and interesting. It also helps because I have a kid and I get paid to go places and do fun things with my kids and tow. But I have noticed when I have a day out with the kids that I have spent most of the time laughing and cutting up with them, but when I worked with “grown ups”, my days were not full of joy by any measure.

I know that my jobs are not professional or serious, but happiness is more important than that to me. My retirement is not where I want it to be, but I look and feel young because I do not have a stressful job. I am trying to pay my bills so that I can add more to my financial future instead of monthly balances, but even when I have made more money I have not been happy in jobs. It is probably because I have never really done what I loved until now.

Though I am still trying to find more work that is suited to my education and that can better support us, I will relish in the fun days that I am having now. I get to stay and watch my kid grow up, and play a part character development of other kids’. In the end, it is a win/win situation. When I look back 40 years from now, I can say that I have no regrets. I can honestly say that I really enjoyed raising my child and the work that I did. Not many people can say that…