How Do You Spell That?

We are having deep discussions these days about what is next after Jessie finishes Storefront. Jessie’s plans and dreams change every moment, depending on who she has just talked to (Jeremy and I are going to move to Los Angeles and become rock stars); what musical she has just seen (I’m going to apply to Harvard Law school and become a lawyer); or what college or program she has just visited (theatre looks like too much work, maybe I will try biochemistry, you remember that I LOVE science!).

While she really wants her next step to be college or university (that’s a whole other blog or two or three), she also wants to have a part-time job and has been working on her job skills through Storefront and her work placements there. To be perfectly honest, Jessie is more of a “creative” than an “organized” person. While her friend Julie would be a brilliant employee organizing clothing or products (because she is an “organized” kind of person), that’s not really Jessie’s forté (note: loving parental understatement of the year).

Jessie tries to bring an element of creativity to everything she does, from cooking to combing her hair, and yes, even culling hangers off the clothes rack. At one of her placements, she was observed taking the empty hangers off the clothes racks (good first step) and hanging them off her sweater (not so great second step). While she had been provided with a basket to hold the empty hangers, she thought that since she was wearing the brightly coloured sweater my mom knit for her—the one she calls her “creative” sweater and wears when she is writing— she should inject some creativity into her job. The problem was, once she had hung these hangers on her sweater, she couldn’t unhook them and went wandering around the store—hangers hanging and clanging off her sweater—trying to figure out what to do.

However, since that memorable incident, Storefront has sold her on the importance of being organized and learning certain front-line retail skills. The other day we passed a new Shoppers Drug Mart being built in our neighbourhood and we talked about the possibility of her trying for a job there. Later in the week, I got this text from her:

Mom: I know the building isn’t finished yet but I would like to try to work at that shoppers drug mart part time in the area of stalking. Plus ive learned a lot about speed and stalk at several of my placements. Jessie

I didn’t quite realize the full range of skills she was learning at her placements! I actually think she might be very good at stalking, especially speed stalking (if a Jonas brother is involved). So if that rock star thing doesn’t work out she’ll still have a useful skill when she and Jeremy move to LA.

But maybe next time her placement could work on spelling?