Yesterday I must have spent to much time scrolling Facebook on my phone because as I was putting it down to focus on my husband who had just gotten home, I saw a banner notification from Google that said “10 New Jobs You Might Like”. Google evidently doesn’t see all of the jobs I already have as a stay-at-home wife of 1 and mom of 5. The notification disappeared before I took a minute to glance at the list, but it made me think of what job I might actually be doing if I wasn’t fully occupied already.
Go back to my last job. Nine years ago I moved to Opelika to take on the role of Program Director at BigHouse Foundation, a non-profit started by my dear friends, to serve foster and adoptive families in Lee County. I served there for 6 years before the calling of motherhood overwhelmed my ability to perform my duties at BigHouse. While things have grown and changed for me at home, they’ve also grown and changed at BigHouse, so I probably wouldn’t be doing the exact same things, but I really enjoyed building relationships with BigHouse families, serving kids in foster care, and organizing amazing events with the help of our passionate volunteers and community partners.
Rediscover my original career path. Prior to moving to Opelika, I was working as a music therapist in Canton, GA for Therabeat at In Harmony Pediatric Therapy. I loved the 18 months I spent as a new professional and learned so much. I have thought about how I might like to revisit music therapy one day, bringing what I now know about childhood trauma to better serve the largely misunderstood population of kids from hard places and their families. I’ve always been a research nerd, and I think about techniques and practices I would like to experiment with in this population to better inform music therapists across the world.
Personal grocery shopper. I love the idea of grocery delivery. Unfortunately, we live out of range for most of the services so I haven’t been able to use it myself. If I lived closer to town and didn’t have a carload of kids with me at all times, I’d sign up to be a shopper for other people. I quite enjoy solo grocery trips and would like the challenge of shopping as fast as possible.
Travel blogger. I’ve gotten interested in travel lately and I would like to have the ability to travel and then write about my experiences. In order for it to be a job, I’d need to have people pay me to do this, but I’d settle for comped trips in exchange for my review! If you have connections to this type of thing, let me know. Until then I’ll just be dream-planning trips I might take one day!
Escape room puzzle maker. Have you ever tried an escape room game? I had the opportunity to do my first one last December at Auburn Escape Zones. It was such a blast, I was ready to do another one right away! Puzzles, scavenger hunts, and other games have always been fun for me. I love the attention to detail and the creative story lines involved in escape room puzzles. For now, I’m going to try some DIY escape room games I found on Pinterest.
Professional driver on a closed course. I’m sure you’ve noticed that footnote on car commericials. Sporty new cars, no speed limits, and no traffic – that sounds like an exciting day job to me! We visited the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham a few years ago and were able to watch drivers undertake the Porsche Track Experience. It looks so cool, but is out of my SAHM budget! If Toyota ever needs a real mom to show off the Sienna for an ad, I’ll be ready.
Amusement park employee. I grew up in middle Tennessee and had the privilege of visiting Opryland USA many times before it closed permanently. My brothers and I used to talk about working there when we were old enough and which rides we’d like to operate. I still love amusement parks and long for my carefree days when I could visit on a whim. In another life, I’d still like to work for one and have unlimited thrills!
Cruise director. I haven’t been on a cruise (although it’s on my travel list), but I’ve heard the director is the one in charge of running activities and programming, and ultimately trying to ensure everyone has an enjoyable vacation. I’m pretty good at administrating and like being able to recommend things I’ve tried to others. In addition to traveling to exotic destinations and getting to enjoy lots of food, this sounds like a good job to me!
Librarian. I’ve been a book lover my whole life. I always feel rich when I leave the library with a stack of books. When I was younger, I was particularly interested in the librarian’s authority to stamp books, which they no longer do. But on a recent visit to the Lewis Cooper Jr. Memorial Library, I was able to self-checkout my items, and that was exciting. I think I would enjoy working in a library and helping other people find joy, information, encouragement, and inspiration through books.
Grandmother. One day I hope to be promoted to grandmother. Not any time soon, and hopefully with a bit of break between parenting and grandparenting (although with kids 15 years apart that may not happen). I think being a grandmother is a really wonderful job, and you probably get more sleep than you do as a mother. At least, I hope so. While I may never explore these other career opportunities, I can still enjoy aspects of all of them while embracing my current full-time job as Mom.
