After working as a Speech-Language Pathologist in a nursing care facility and independent living, I realized this was not my calling.

I went on to work in various public schools and found my niche in the elementary schools. My favorite ages to work with were the preschoolers and Kindergarteners. They were the age group who were the most motivated because they thrived on attention and positive rewards. They worked hard and made the most strides.

This work was exciting and rewarding, but one thing that continued to serve as my albatross was the paperwork. Though I did not object to the paperwork as a rule, it was my need to be a perfectionist that would keep me combing over every detail to be sure I dotted every "i" and crossed every "t" that held me back. Afterall, my signature was the final stamp of approval and if there were ever any question over anything from test results to type of therapy chosen, then I could be held accountable by the State. This could be as serious as losing my license or spending time in jail. Sure, worst case scenario, but a reason to worry nonetheless. Ultimately, I see all my schooling as a collasal waste of time, money, and resources.

Eventually the paperwork buried me and I decided that as much fun as I was having with working with kids directly I could not take the 15-16 hour work days and moved into other jobs, which included: substitute teaching, warehouse work, a courier...I also ended up in retail, which has to be some of the worst types of jobs. My favorite retail job was working for PetSmart, but they were my favorite only because of the time I got to spend with the various animals. Most of the time I enjoyed working with customers too, but the worst of them seemed to come out every major Holiday, when they "needed" to buy a pet for their kid. They were the ones who seemed to show up on a whim, without having any idea what kind of pet they wanted, having done zero research, and expected their kids to be 100% responsible for their new pet's care. Sometimes, I was able to educate these customers into the reality of what a huge undertaking it would be in terms of cost, time, and maintenance involved in caring for these pets. But then there was a small percentage of customers who just did not understand and were resistant to learning, and fortunately I was in a position to refuse the sale of the pet based on the sake of the welfare of the pet. Sadly, those customers would find a way around it by going to a manager or a different store location. And inevitably the customer would be back in a few days to exchange or return a sick, dying, or dead pet. I eventually moved out of that craziness and into work as a pet sitter. I could choose whether or not to take a job and I could dictate my own prices and time. I found this work rewarding, but eventually had to give it up when the pandemic hit and no one was going on vacations, or when they started working from home.