April 6, 2020
What did you want to be when you grew up vs. what you are today?
Once upon a time, I posed that question to Harmony, the main character in my mystery series. Well, Jake, the anti-hero, asked.
“You know, when I was a little kid, I wanted to be a cop when I grew up.” He glared at me. “Don’t laugh.”
I swallowed my chuckle with a sip of coffee. “What happened?”
He grimaced. “Life, I guess. I still think I would have been a good one.”
It was surreal, having a conversation with a renowned jewel thief about being a police officer. “Sometimes dreams just don’t work out,” I said, thinking about Janine and the library job.
“What dream hasn’t worked out for you?”
I picked up a section of the newspaper so he couldn’t see my eyes. “It’s not important. I’ve got a good life and good friends and that’s what matters.”
“Let me guess, you wanted to be an astronaut but your eyesight’s not good enough.”
“Worse. I wanted to be a cowboy. Not a cowgirl, mind you, but a cowboy.”
Jake snorted into his cup, spraying coffee everywhere. He snatched a handful of napkins from the holder and blotted the liquid from the newspaper. “Yeah, I can see where that might be a little hard to accomplish.” He eyed me. “You don’t have the right parts. But I must say, I like the parts you have.”
I crumpled up an insert from the paper and hurled it at him. I needed to find a way to keep him busy and out of my hair, and soon.
Now, I never wanted to be a cowboy. Daniel Boone, maybe. Or a hermit. There was a time I wanted to be a singer-songwriter, but only knew the basics about music. Or maybe a writer. Then I decided to be a librarian.
Those of you who have followed this blog for awhile may remember I actually got to be one. Part-time, in a small library in a small town. But it was everything I wanted. I got to be surrounded by books, I got to do story hour for kids, I got to help pick out new books to the collection. Best of all, I got to read when there was nothing else to do!
Life happened, and I had to leave that small town and small library. Eventually, I was introduced to computers and fell in love. (I won’t talk about the many jobs in between.) Yes, I’m old. No one had a personal computer when I was a kid.. And now I’m a Windows server administrator. A job that didn’t exist when I was growing up. (And one that certainly wouldn’t have been suggested to a teenage girl.)
The best part is, I’m a writer too! Which may seem like an odd combination. One is mathematical and the other creative. In the whole right side of the vs the left side of the brain theory, I’m using both equally, but not at the same time. And loving it.
I tell people I didn’t decide what I wanted to be when I grew up until I was over 40, and it’s the truth. Better late than never!
To find out what the other folks on this hop wanted to be when they grew up, follow the links below.
Be safe, everyone!
April 6, 2020
What did you want to be when you grew up vs. what you are today?
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