Dael got a job!

My son has joined the adult workforce.

He left school after doing his Grade Ten and after not quite having achieved a pass, at the age of 17. He spent last year working with his father quite unhappily as his father can be very impatient and bad-tempered when working. He had gone up to Gauteng with his dad and they were living with relatives for about eight weeks while his dad was trying to build up his cash resources. Now Dael is a home bird and felt very uncomfortable living in someone else's home, not being able to make something to eat when he wanted or do what he wanted when he wanted to. He started to get desperate and after I appealed to the dad's boss, another worker was found and I bought Dael a bus ticket home.

He sat around the house since early August watching tv, talking on Mxit, smoking and generally chilling which I haven't minded my kids doing for a while after they left school. However, he has recently started costing me more than I wanted to spend on smokes, going out etc, so I had been reminding him that it was time to start looking for a job. A few months ago I actually organised an interview for him with a truck and vehicle mechanic. He went for the interview and got the job but not the job I had originally wanted for him. They reckoned that because he hadn't achieved Grade 12 he could only be a general worker and not an apprentice. Also the guy that interviewed Dael kept on calling him 'Junior' which he felt was insulting. I pleaded with him to just consider working their for a while because its always difficult to get that first job even with the best qualifications. He refused to consider it and said to me 'Mom, you have taught me not to accept people treating me like dirt so don't try and make me take this job'. I had to accept that much as it galled me because he had the job in his hand. Anyway he sat at home. In the meantime, the dad started to nag about him going back up to Gauteng to work with him and he also refused to do that.

Anyway, my sister went back to work on Thursday. She is the frontline receptionist and has been with the company for 10 years, discovered that they were interviewing for factory jobs. I faxed through Dael's cv, zoomed him through for an interview within the hour and he got the job. What a difference. He is ready to work, is happy about the fact that he will be able to work nightshift once he is trained (10pm to 6am!!). He is awake talking on Mxit at that time anyway and the factory is very close to home. He will be learning the printing and shrinkwrapping industry. So it was his first day today and apart from the fact that he was about 2 minutes late (I have 2 clocks reading 2 different times) everything seems to have gone smoothly. My sister phoned me berating me for not having given him lunch and I realised that I had forgotten to give him some spending money in my rush. So I suppose he will have a surrogate mom looking after him in my stead during the day. The dad also respects the fact that he is working for a real company (as I knew he would) apart from a few nauseating lectures about safety but he has always been a bit over-the-top with his lecturing. Definitely can see who the coolest parent is here - even if I say so myself!

So 2 down - 1 to go and Brad still has a few years left at school. In fact if he makes it all the way to Grade 12 smoothly from here on I should be hitting 50! (And probably paying off the school fees until I'm 70 so no retiring for me!) He was telling his cousin who is the same age as him in the car this morning before I dropped them off at the cousin's house that he would like to be a Game Ranger but if his mom can't afford college he would be joining the police force or a security company, so I definitely will have to find college tuition funds for him by hook or crook!

Wishing all a fantastic weekend!