Elisabeth's new job

 Elisabeth is 14 1/2 and has been struggling.  Covid impacted everyone but among those folks i know, the 13-14 year old kids seem to have had more emotional fallout from lockdown.  In any case, she did.  I think what made it extra hard was that she was just stretching her wings. She had started going places with friends w ithout an adult present.  Made trips to the mall, lunch dates with a group of friends, movies.  And it was gone in an instant.  For 15 long months.

We did everything we could to make good memories in dark times.  But family game nights don't replace time with friends when you are that age. Early this spring her beloved older brother moved into his own apartment and that played a role as well.  My kids all love each other but she and Rob have always had a special bond.

The internet took up more and more of her time and it was hard to say much against it since in many ways it was a tool for some kind of connection with her friends.  But too much internet brought sleep deprivation and a surly teen.  It was  not the best 15 months of her life that is for sure.

KC missed a lot and dealt with many of the same emotions but he was working all during the pandemic. So at least for 12 or 15 hours a week he was out in the world where she was not.  Eventually dance resumed and that helped but it was all so little compared to all that was missing.

She tried and tried to get a job and the grocery store was not hiring.  It is super hard to find a job at 14.  There are weird regulations on what you can do and how long you can work and many employers would rather not deal with those issues. 

Then, an opportunity presented itself.  A Dairy Queen was being built at the mall. It is one of those that is open year round. She applied and was one of the first hired. She has had trainings all week and will have them until next Tuesday.  She is loving it!  She comes home excited about the things she has learned to make. She has stories to tell about other trainees. Suddenly her world is not so tiny and it is expanding her spirit.  Oh, and as an example of the weird regulations for 14 year old workers--she can't make a banana split because she can not legally cut the banana at 14!!