Every now again, something will happen in my role as parent that gets me thinking about jobs I’ve had in the past. I’ve begun to wonder whether my choice of work has been a subconscious effort to train for parenthood.
Let’s start with my temp job as P.A. to a manager who wouldn’t make his own coffee. Within six weeks I had him trained to walk to the espresso machine outside his office door and press the button himself. Initially he hated it, but after a while he grew to enjoy the freedom of deciding when he wanted a coffee and getting it for himself. Not unlike potty training, in a way.
From there I progressed to another temp position, this time as P.A. to a machinery salesman. Basically this consisted of doing the things he wanted done, regardless of what else needed doing. As any mother knows, this is what a lot of the job of mother boils down to. The children want a snack, so you make a snack. The children want to go to the playground, so you go to the playground. Parenthood is very like being a live-in PA.
Next up was something completely different- working as a photographer of lorries. That job was especially helpful for my current role of mother to three boys. I know more than I ever imagined I would about lorries, especially bin lorries. In two languages, I might add. This was one of my more fun jobs and it impressed the kids no end when they heard that I used to earn my living by being around lorries all day.
One of the most useful jobs in my preparation for parenthood was perfume sales assistant. It was here that I developed a good nose for scents, a very handy skill to possess when you have children in nappies. Not so much of the floral tones around here these days though. It is far more a case of oh-the-stink than eau de parfum.
Probably the only job I ever hated was credit card sales, but even that has come in handy. Despite being very short lived, it did give me a good grounding in how to tell white lies. And when you have children, you tell quite a lot of fibs.
Equally educational was my role as international health insurance claims officer. This is where I learned how to tell when someone is lying to me. Again, in two languages. I fear that this is a skill I will need more and more as the boys grow older.
My current job sees the boundary lines between job and motherhood blur. Without a doubt, working as an international project manager has been the most helpful of all in equipping me for motherhood. Making sure a huge job gets done involves cajoling people to do things they don’t necessarily want to do and within a certain time frame. White lies, juggling roles and prioritising activities are all part of project management. See, just like parenthood. There are days when I am in a meeting giving orders, delegating and setting time frames and I find myself thinking this is just like trying to get the boys to clean their room.
Fionnuala is a Project manager and mama to three bilingual boys living in Germany. Coffee in hand, she is usually found minding the children, planning projects, writing or cooking, all while keeping an eye out for vintage treasures and taking photos for her brilliant Three Sons Later blog.
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