You Can Take This Job and...Give It a Big Hug

I wasn't particularly looking for a job. Admittedly, I've thought about going back to work part-time now that my kids are in first and second grade, but the only jobs I could think of that would fit my schedule were clerking at a grocery store or a shoe store, which didn't particularly appeal. So, since there was no urgent financial need for me to go back to work, I held off. But about a month ago, the perfect job kind of fell into my lap.

It all happened pretty suddenly. One Monday, I got a message from a friend that I had met through theatre who teaches at the local high school, saying that the part-time seamstress position for their fine arts department was open, and wondering if I might be interested. Let me think about it, I said. She contacted me the next day asking if I'd be willing to talk to the Fine Arts Director about the position. Sure, I said. He called me and asked if I could come in for an interview on Thursday. At the interview, he offered me the position on the spot, I accepted (also on the spot), and I started the following Monday.

And I LOVE it.

Honestly, if I could have written a job description for my ideal job right now, this would be it. I'm sewing and altering costumes and formal wear, which I LOVE. I'm coming up with creative costumes from stock pieces with a minimal budget, which I LOVE. I'm working with high school kids, which I LOVE. I'm on a team with fabulously creative performing arts teachers, which I LOVE. My office is across the hall from the band and chorus rooms, so I get to listen to their rehearsals all day, which I LOVE. My "office" (aka a dressing room with a large desk with a sewing machine on it) is far enough off the beaten path that I don't have lots of people around all the time, but there are a handful of people who drop in regularly, giving my introverted self the exact amount of human interaction that I need, which I LOVE. The hours are flexible and allow me to see my kids off on the bus in the morning and be home in time to be dropped off in the afternoon, which I LOVE. I'm in the same school system as my kids, which means that when my kids have off for school vacations, snow days, teacher development days, and miscellaneous holidays, I have off too, which I LOVE.

And on top of the fact that this job is perfect for me, I'm also perfect for it. My seamstress skills are in costuming rather than clothing, which is a surprisingly different skill. Sewing clothes requires strict precision and neatness, taking time to make sure that all the details can pass up close scrutiny. Sewing costumes requires flexibility, creativity, and speed, constructing items in a such a way that they can be altered without being damaged, getting things done as quickly and simply as possible, making sure that they can pass scrutiny at a distance but not necessarily up close, and allowing for quick changes by the wearer. Making costumes for a school (or a community theatre group) is often not a case of creating exactly what you want, but creating something that's reasonably similar to exactly what you want but that can be made from pieces you already have or can get for really cheap. It's the same kind of work I've been doing for years as a costume designer, coordinator, and assistant in community theatre, right down to the small stock and budget. It's the kind of challenge that invigorates me instead of frustrating me. And on top of all that, I'm familiar with the odd relationship that the high school has with the Reagle Theatre with which it shares resources, and I know the Reagle staff (as well as the previous holder of this position), so it makes it much easier to navigate any overlap of resources and to ask for help.

But what really makes me realize that this job and I are perfect for each other is that I get up in the morning looking forward to going to work. And I don't mind staying late - in fact, sometimes I'm a little sad to go. Doing what I'm doing makes me happy. I admit, I'm sure there will be times when I'm less than eager to work, and times when I'm frustrated or overwhelmed, and times when I'm slogging through rather than enjoying. But I'm proud of what I do, and I know I'm good at it, and I know that there aren't a lot of people who could do it. And that's pretty exciting and invigorating.

I consider myself fortunate that I can take on a position that's less than full time, and that isn't making a large salary. I consider myself fortunate that I can use my funky and unusual skill set to benefit young people learning and growing in the fine arts. I consider myself fortunate that my husband fully supports my doing what I do, to the point where he is willing to rearrange his schedule when necessary. I consider myself fortunate that my kids think it's totally cool that I have a job, and they think that my job itself is totally cool. I consider myself fortunate that my job makes me happy. I just want to give it a big hug.

(Note: This is not me. I do not have a beard. Or a tattoo. But I have been known to hug sewing machines.)