Growing up, Ma worked many jobs. One of the earliest jobs I remember her working at was a small town cafe as a waitress. (Side note, that is actually how she met dad. Not that that matters or anything in this story...) As I continued to grow up she worked as a Pharmacist Technician, a waitress, bartender, cleaner, Pizza Putter Togetherer, secretary, and I'm sure many more jobs that I'm forgetting. She would work all day, and come home and clean the house, and do all the stores that are required on a hobby farm. Feeding and watering the animals, tending the garden in summer, splitting and hauling work in the winter, and many, many other things. My point is that she is one damn hard working woman. She can have a to-do list a mile long and get it all done. The house was always clean and company ready. Desserts for when people stopped by where in the freezer just in case someone dropped by unannounced.
No matter what job Ma was working, even if it was less than minimum wage, she put her all into it. It didn't matter what the job was, she always went above and beyond doing things, even if she didn't get paid for it. Now, I'm sure that Ma would never tell you any of this, and she would brush it off and say "It's just what I do" or perhaps "It just needed to be done and I had time so I did it." No work was beneath her or above her. She did it all. And then some. Then come home and do it all again. And then some. No lying, I still swear that she is SuperWoman. She can still run circles around me.
In this day and age, I have come to realize that there aren't many people out there who work like that. They get out of bed, do the bare minimum to scrape by and nothing else. I'll be the first to admit that I've been one of them. They just want the paycheck and won't do anything other than what is in their job description and required of them to get that paycheck.
I'm honored that Ma was able to instill her hardworking morals into me. It doesn't matter if it's my slightly above minimum wage job or my job that pays me 3-4 times minimum age. I work my ass off at both jobs. No matter what job I'm at, I find something to do. Cleaning isn't "below" me or not in my job description. If it needs to be done I do it. If I'm so busy I don't get my breaks, I'm not going to whine and cry about it. Stuff needs to be done so I do it.
I have recently realized that there aren't many people like that left anymore that are willing to go above and beyond. So many people feel entitled to that paycheck and aren't going to do more than the bare minimum to get it. I'm happy to say that I have realized that I'm not one of them. I work my ass off for my paycheck. There is a great sense of accomplishment in working your ass off and seeing all that you have accomplished.
Thanks Ma for instilling your hardworking morals into me. I don't want to know what I would be like otherwise.
Now if only I could be so hard working at home too...I'll get better at that. I promise.
