My first job was babysitting. My very first babysitting job, at age 12 (with my Mom's supervision), was for a neighbour, who eventually was my high school science teacher and one of my all-time favourite teachers. The two girls were 3 and 4, and adorable, and I ended up babysitting them on a regular basis for the following five years. One of my favourite aspects of that job was that their Mom almost always made me chocolate chip cookies on the nights I was sitting for them.

My first non-babysitting job was as a cashier at the five-and-dime department store. I really enjoyed that job and the people I was lucky to work with at the time.

At 16, I began working entire summers at a summer church camp for children. That was by far the best job I've ever had in my entire life. I loved everything about it, except the mosquitoes at night. To this day, I often wish I had pursued a career in that, though I still don't know how I could have done so.

Eventually I went to college (worked in a toy store to pay my way through) and got my Early Childhood Education diploma, worked in day care for many years before having my first massive burnout and first episode (of many many to come) of profound clinical depression which forever changed my life and career choices. Back then, nobody hired people with a background in depression/mental illness. But I was lucky to find a wonderful employment agent who found me a job with the federal government, where I stayed for 12 years. Another wonderful job with wonderful people.

I've truly been blessed throughout my life with wonderful people everywhere I worked, though I might not have realized how rare and blessed that was at the time. Looking back makes me both glad and sad, glad for the experiences and people who enriched me beyond measure, sad for all the losses along the way. My depression cost me a lot over the years, especially in friendships. Many friends simply couldn't handle my seemingly endless darkness, and I don't blame them. But I wish they could see me now that I'm out of all of that and thriving.

Anyway, after all of those years of babysitting, nannying and day care, and not having had children of my own, I cannot even imagine myself being able to babysit another child ever now. Though I love to be with them and play and such, I don't have the stamina to look after them anymore on a long-term basis.