A Very Good Reason

Life can be frustrating sometimes. You can lose your job one day, your primary form of transportation disappears the next (local bus strike – boo! ). But on the brighter side of things, the apartment is cleaner than usual (save for my study notes), I’m working on a few awesome knitting projects (I hope to start a sweater for Denis next week) and I’m getting exercise walking to school several days a week! I’ve told you before that I’m an optimist, and I’m going to say it again today. Everything in life happens for a reason.

One of the best things that ever happened to me in my life was getting let go from a job at a local greenhouse. It was a seasonal position that I didn’t expect to keep for too long, but when I was one of the first let go as the busy spring season wound down I was surprised and saddened. Summer was coming up fast and I didn’t have a job. Unfortunately the position I had held at a nearby golf course that our family is a part of wasn’t available to me as they had already hired someone who had been available earlier in the year than I was. It was looking like I might be spending the summer working at home for mom and dad – not the worst thing in the world, but future employers don’t generally see your parents as impartial references.

I don’t recall exactly how many days or weeks passed before I was at the golf course having brunch with our family. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins – there were quite a few of us there enjoying our meal. Suddenly, the pro shop manager came up to me with a question: Would you be able to work behind the counter for a while?

I grabbed my plate and off we went. I hadn’t worked in the pro shop the year before (I had worked in the kitchen and behind the bar previously), but honestly it was where I really wanted to be. The manager showed me the till, pointed out a few important buttons, and…left me to teach a kids golf camp. An hour later he returned, and I had rung a dozen or so golfers through without any errors.

I finished out the summer and worked weekends into the fall at the course, learning as much as I could about the golf industry. I charmed the mens league players, made coffee at 5:30 am for the groundscrew, ordered thousands of golf pencils, and helped run tournaments. I returned the next summer to take on the role of Assistant Manager. One day a co-worker mentioned her single friend. She wanted to introduce us.

I think you could say we hit it off. It was a very good reason.