Dear Jackrabbit,
These are some jobs I’ve had over the course of my lifetime:
Writing tutor. Dishwasher. Typesetter. Roadie. Assistant manager of a copy shop. Gardener. Short order cook. Designer. Personal assistant. Cashier. Managing editor. Shelf stocker. Janitor. Camp counselor. Library assistant. Bookstore worker. Bouncer. Fiction editor. Art director. Printer.
I have also sold stories, articles, poems, paintings, digital design and other art. For a short time my sole source of income was playing guitar on a street corner. During college I did a number of odd jobs ranging from cleaning basements to handing out flyers and selling merchandise at concerts. I once spent a weekend moving pianos and made enough to cover my rent in only two days. When you’re a poor college student, you take anything that comes your way.
Some jobs I held were pretty lousy. Long hours with little personal fulfillment, but when you have bills to pay, you do what you have to. I’ve been very fortunate, however, to have had a number of jobs that I absolutely loved–that led to great personal growth. A lot of times, a good job is about more than just money.
That’s not to downplay how important a good income is, but I’ve seen what prolonged exposure to a soul-crushing job can do to a person. I consider myself very fortunate right now to be doing a job I love. The money has its ups and down, but usually by the year’s end it all evens out.
What do I do right now? Hopefully the same thing I’m doing by the time you’re old enough to read these letters. When asked, I usually reply, “I work in publishing.”
It’s a little more complicated than that. I’m a freelancer–which means I’m my own boss and I do work for a number of different businesses on a per-job basis. The vast, vast majority of my work is in producing books and journals. People give me the raw materials–text and images–and I take them and turn them into computer files that can be sent to printers and made into actual physical books, magazines, and so forth. I do formatting, design, art, some editing, troubleshooting, and many other little tasks that all add up to large projects.
Seems like a lot of the work I do is related to film and popular culture–not a bad thing as I’m a bit of a film buff. Some of my clients I’ve worked with for a long time. Others are more recent. A lot depends on what’s out there. Fortunately, I’m pretty darn good at what I do. Another neat aspect to my job is I work with people all over the world–authors, editors, artists, and publishers. Some of the people I’ve worked with are (or were) pretty famous.
The hours are long. I don’t really get days off. Some projects get a little tedious. The pay is better some days than others, but I really can’t complain. Most of the work is rather interesting, and–best yet–I get to stay home with you. This is a major plus. Even if things like daycare were affordable, I think we’d still keep it this way.
I also run a small publishing imprint of my own. You’ve probably seen the name “Merry Blacksmith Press” around the house. You’ve definitely seen the anvil-and-horseshoe tattoo on my forearm that also serves as the logo. That’s a fun little business and I get to work with a lot of incredibly talented and creative people. We also sometimes go to conventions to sell books and meet people. Loads of fun.
With your mother, we also have Merry Blacksmith Studios which is what we call ourselves when we’re off selling art or jewelry. (You probably don’t remember, but you helped us sell stuff this past Christmas as a little arts and crafts show we did. People thought you were awfully adorable.)
It took a long time to get to where I am now. Before all of this, there were a lot of shit jobs. And even today there are occasional crappy part-time jobs to make some extra bucks when my freelance business gets too slow.
But I’m still pretty lucky. Well… not just luck. Lots of had work. You get the idea.
The point, the real point of this letter today, Jack, is to not be afraid of work. Not all work is going to be the best job for you, but there will be some great jobs, and you’ll find the career path that works best for you.
The adage “one works to live, not live to work” is very true. I may describe myself to people as a “freelancer” or “publisher” but only in the context when someone asks me what kind of work I do. Sometimes I’ll say I’m an artist. Admittedly, that’s more something I do because I really enjoy it and I’ve been fortunate enough to get paid for it on occasion.
I am who I am. I think being “Jack’s dad” is my best job yet, and the closest that comes to also defining me, but to be absolutely honest, boy, even that wouldn’t be entirely true. As much as I love you and cannot imagine life without you, I am who I am. And I want you to be the same, that is, you be you.
Don’t let anyone else ever define you. Don’t let any job define you. We work to make a living, and it’s important to do so, but never lose sight of what really matters. Even then, you’re “job” is to grow up happy and secure. Your mother and I, and your friends and family, are here to help make that a reality.
Okay, I’m going to sign off here. This letter has been a little more rambling than most. Maybe sometime down the line I’ll share some funny work stories. There are plenty.
All my love and more,
–Dad
p.s. In thinking about it more… my most important job is being your dad. It doesn’t pay cash money, but the emotional and spiritual dividends are huge. My next important job is helping make this country great again by helping to retake the house and senate in two years before Trump and his evil minions can wreck things further. Again, not a paying gig, but one that will pay off in quality of life in the end.
