My Freedom: Prompt twelve
Todays blog prompt says: "Write about your first job and ask you blog readers to share their first job stories too".
My first job, my very first occupation for which I was paid was when I was eight and wanted my own pony - and what little girl doesn't dream of that? My dad said he would pay me half a crown, that's two shillings and sixpence in real money and twelve and a half pence in the strange decimalised stuff we have to use these days. Now where was I? right Dad said he would pay me half a crown to feed the chickens every day and clean out the chicken shed every weekend. So that's what I did. My Uncle said he would give me the same to clean his car every week, so I did. Dad said clean my car too and I'll give you another half crown, so I did that too. Then the neighbours asked if I would clean their car - the three people in the street that had cars, this was the 1950s after all.
Suddenly I have 15 shillings a week so I can afford to put half into savings and use the other half for riding lessons. I carried on doing those jobs until we moved from our bungalow that dad built to an old farmhouse with just one acre of land and dad said "Now we can buy that pony." I had saved £30 and the pony we bought cost £60 so my dad lent the money to me and I paid him back by doing other jobs like milking the goats and feeding the chickens and cleaning out the sheds as well as grooming and feeding and riding my beloved pony.
It never made me rich with money but the memories I have and the values it gave me are pearls beyond price. How about you? What was your first job?
My first job, my very first occupation for which I was paid was when I was eight and wanted my own pony - and what little girl doesn't dream of that? My dad said he would pay me half a crown, that's two shillings and sixpence in real money and twelve and a half pence in the strange decimalised stuff we have to use these days. Now where was I? right Dad said he would pay me half a crown to feed the chickens every day and clean out the chicken shed every weekend. So that's what I did. My Uncle said he would give me the same to clean his car every week, so I did. Dad said clean my car too and I'll give you another half crown, so I did that too. Then the neighbours asked if I would clean their car - the three people in the street that had cars, this was the 1950s after all.
Suddenly I have 15 shillings a week so I can afford to put half into savings and use the other half for riding lessons. I carried on doing those jobs until we moved from our bungalow that dad built to an old farmhouse with just one acre of land and dad said "Now we can buy that pony." I had saved £30 and the pony we bought cost £60 so my dad lent the money to me and I paid him back by doing other jobs like milking the goats and feeding the chickens and cleaning out the sheds as well as grooming and feeding and riding my beloved pony.
It never made me rich with money but the memories I have and the values it gave me are pearls beyond price. How about you? What was your first job?