I did not sign up for this!

Has life ever made you stop and ask, “Now hold on one hot second, I did not sign up for THIS!”  I think it has come along in every stage of my life.

Puberty

Dating 

Jobs

College

Marriage

Parenthood

Childbirth  (Especially when you see yourself in the mirror for the first time after having a baby and wonder what alien body you are looking at. Then someone hands you a beautiful pair of netted panties and a pad that looks like it was made for a menstruating elephant.)

Life often gives you the unwanted and unexpected. That quite literally happened to me when as a teenager, I accidentally applied for the wrong job and didn’t even realize it until after I got the job.

How does one not even know what she is applying for?  You may look at  my hair color and think that explains it.  I was subject to so many dumb blonde jokes growing up I may have subconsciously tried to prove them right. 

Honestly, dumb blonde may be the best explanation. I was a senior in high school when I decided I could handle a job on top of my school work.  I didn’t want to work just anywhere. I had standards. I wanted to work somewhere cool. “Cool” meant it was a place where I could dress in cute outfits. Good looking boys had to frequent such establishment and would think I was cool for working there. See, I knew what was important when it came to jobs. 

With all my requirements in mind I grabbed the “wanted” section of the newspaper and circled away. I was excited to see one of my favorite restaurants, Bennigan’s was hiring. It was a place my group of friends went to get free dessert because one of us always happened to be celebrating a “birthday.”  It was a hip atmosphere, fun music always playing, no uniforms and cute boys a plenty. 

I arrived at the restaurant already imagining all the fun I’d have working there as a hostess. I walked in the front door and there was the hostess stand right in the foyer. I asked for an application, filled it out and left it hoping I’d get an interview.   The manager called and asked me to come in the next day. 

As I walked in for the interview I was a little confused. There wasn’t upbeat music playing and the restaurant was a lot darker than I pictured.  I had never been to this particular location so I thought maybe it was just a little different or maybe they did their interviews in a different part of the restaurant that was quieter. 

I answered all the questions with confidence but caution because I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. When the manager offered me the job he told me I would need to buy a tuxedo top and they would provide a bow tie. Heat started to climb up my neck to my ears as he spoke. Tuxedo top!? Black skirt?  Dress shoes?   

I looked down at the application in his hands and my brain finally connected the dots. On one corner of the application was the name Bennigan’s on the other corner was Steak and Ale.  “Bennigan’s” was the sign over the door I entered but I didn’t realize you had to walk down the hall to the right to get there. Steak and Ale decided to place their hostess stand in the foyer instead of in their restaurant and I assumed it was the stand for Bennigan’s.  See? Anyone could have made the same mistake right?  I like to tell myself that. 

The two restaurants shared a foyer but that was about the only thing they had in common.  Steak and Ale met NONE of my requirements. The youngest customers were in their 50’s, no cute boys to be found unless you counted cute old men. I would have to wear a stuffy tux uniform that was in no way flattering.  I considered many ways to explain how this was all big mistake and decline the job but every one ended with me looking like an idiot. I sucked it up and took the job, then went home and cried. 

My first few weeks were a pity party because I could see all the fun that was happening across the hall from my stand. I wanted to be there!  I would watch the good looking boys walk in and almost ask me for a table then turn when they realized Bennigan’s was the other direction.  

As I look back now I realize how lucky I was that I was ditzy enough to get the wrong job.  I didn’t know what was good for me, and my job “standards” could have been a little less shallow.  Really the atmosphere at Bennigan’s was not ideal for a waaaay naive 17 yr old girl.  Bennigan’s attracted the partying, drinking crowd and things got a little sketchy sometimes. 

No, I did not get what I thought I was signing up for but what I got was a lot better for me. Isn’t that how it always turns out?  It isn’t always fun. It isn’t always pretty. But, it is always perfect for us; even when we won’t see it that way for years to come.  

Perhaps that is also important for us to remember when we look at the lives of those we love. Instead of trying to rescue them maybe we need to consider that what they are going through is exactly what they need too.

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