Many Hats….

“Buy a notebook. Write down what you want. Write down what hurts you. Show it to someone you love.

Save it for your children. Burn it in your backyard. Either way, go to bed knowing that in some way, those

things are out of you.”  -Unknown

I got a much needed stress relieving massage today. It felt amazing but my mind is always racing on the massage table. I have to remind myself repeatedly to relax, RELAX! Mostly, I’m thinking about the masseuse and what secrets my body is quietly betraying to her. (yes, always HER) Does she know I’m left-handed? Can she tell I have horrible posture? Does she mind the four day stubble on my legs? Is she slyly judging my cellulite riddled thighs? Can she tell my story by reading my tattoos? My copyright tramp stamp, the wrenches tattooed around my wrists, my children’s names on my biceps… I’ve always been curious what someone can learn about me by kneading my knots. I had the chance to pick the brain of a masseuse recently and she responded yes, yes, no, no and yes among her answers to other questions. So massages aren’t exactly relaxing for me and my ever running inner monologue but I thought maybe writing a blog could help lift some of the weight off these shoulders that the massage couldn’t, an outlet.

When I was a teenager, I wanted to be a journalist when I grew up. Or the next great American author. My nose was always in a book, from A Prayer for Owen Meany (Love!) to some trashy V.C. Andrews saga. After three and a half mostly brutal years of high school, I finished my credits and got the hell out. Four or five more years of school at a university just seemed like an extension of my teen angst sentence so I ended up at a vocational school studying automotive technology. I eventually became a Volkswagen mechanic.

In my twenty plus years of employment, I’ve held a kaleidoscope of positions. Starting with endless babysitting gigs, to a church daycare worker, a gas station cashier, a $1 movie theatre concession stand grunt, a postal worker, a Chili’s waitress, a car dealer receptionist, a pregnant shuttle driver, a pizza delivery girl, a tattoo shop counter person, a VW/Audi/Saab technician, a two week stint in telemarketing, to Mom and wife. I’ve had a LOT of jobs in my time and I could share a secret or two I’ve learned along the way. Maybe not the type of work someone does by massaging the overworked forearm muscles of a wrench-turner (touching other people’s hairy backs freaks me out) but I have some insights.

I decided to name my blog Mamachanic for a few reasons. One, Mom and mechanic are two of the longest positions I’ve held. Two, I like the way it rolls off my tongue. Look for it someday as one of my newest tattoos though I’ve retired my wrenches for the time being to focus on my most important role-raising people. Thanks for taking a minute to read my musings! What’s the best job you ever had?