I noticed that Fandango had asked us to write about our “best job ever” and decided that surely it was time to repost this post from over two years ago!
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Monday morning hey! I am sure that you bounced out of bed this morning full of eagerness and excitement that a new working week commences today….
Hee hee! Back to the old grindstone it is. Alarm clock ringing at some unearthly hour of the morning, leaving the house feeling barely conscious and squeezing our way onto public transport with scores of other commuters who all look as if they need a very strong espresso to inject some life into them.
To cheer both myself and your very good selves up I thought I would tell you about my best Monday morning ever!!!
I had a phone call about fifteen m
inutes before I was due to leave my little cottage to head for work. “Bring your wellington boots” were the instructions. So, I guessed I would be working outside.
So I set off in my wellies, curious about what my Monday morning would entail. The gentleman who owned the estate where I worked met me near the fence to a meadow en route to their large mansion. He was wearing his wellington boots too. He pointed up to the meadow where they had a few sheep.
Now the sheep in that field were just pets really. They didn’t farm sheep for their wool or meat. They just kept a few as lawn-mowers and a lovely addition to the view from their kitchen window. We had to put out fresh hey for them, but for the most part not too much work was involved in caring for the sheep.
On this particular Monday morning, we had to perform a task I had never imagined.
First of all, we had to chase the sheep around a field and gather them into an enclosure. I wish there was a drone filming me and the squire running around the field trying to herd the sheep into one corner. People would pay good money to see comedy like that. It makes me laugh just thinking about it. We must have made quite a sight!
It took some time to accomplish the first part of our task. The next stage in our assigned work for the day was even more interesting. We had to turn each sheep upside down (one at a time of course) so they were on their backs. Why on earth were we doing this?
So that we could cut their toenails!!! (That’s what he told me we were doing. But we were trimming their hooves in reality) Poor sheep! Although, it is important for their health apparently. What a task!
That was indeed one of the most memorable Monday mornings I have had.
I have done various types of work over the years. I have worked in finance, as a receptionist, administrator, legal and medical secretary, gardener, cleaner, sign language interpreter, pharmacy dispensing assistant, laundry, cook, teacher, proofreader (I know I know, you’d never guess by the amount of typos in my blogging posts!), data entry clerk, driver, painter/decorator, I worked for a record company, I have cared for terminally ill patients and those with dementia. I have cared for ponies, chickens, pets, I have walked dogs – (£15 per hour for each dog in case you were wondering – and that was what the clients offered, I didn’t suggest that rate).
The list goes on and on!
I have had some pretty dismal Monday mornings I have to admit. But on the whole work is rewarding and I just grin and bear the challenging times, knowing it is temporary. There are many occasions when I wish my Monday morning would involve a phone-call with the instructions “Bring you wellington boots…the sheep are due their toe-clipping!”
I feel a little blue today. Jack is trying to cheer me up. I think it is just the sadness that follows an amazing week with family and then not knowing what to do with myself now I am back in London. Jack is such a sweetheart. He does not like to see me sad and has been trying to cheer me up. It will pass. It’s a mix of tiredness. missing the joy of being with family and dreading having to go back to (paid) work. Jack is great. He really is.
Caramel 