Re: Whistle

I wrote a blog, not too long ago, about the appreciation I got from my job, the joy I received from the smiles of children. That is still true, and truth be told, I love my job. However, here is another side.

A coworker referred to me a few days ago as someone who hasn't been jaded by the job yet. I hope that the short stay I intend to have there (merely a summer job, right?) will prevent me from becoming worn down. And as I've mentioned, there is an undeniable happiness that I get from working amongst those laughs and lights.

That isn't to say there aren't times when the surroundings wear on my ability to throw on a smile and offer a high five to each and every child. Sure, there are a handful of small things that would make the job better, but these are things that are universal to almost any place of employment, and truth be told, they really don't annoy me that much.

What does are the unappreciative parents. I said, in the post called Whistle While We Work, that the look on parents' faces when they saw their children scream and smile in excitement made everything else around me seem better. I have discovered that their is a polar opposite to this scene, and a corresponding response that it creates in me.

It doesn't happen often, but occasionally parents bring their children to my park with the seeming intent to deal with their own life while pushing their kid from ride to ride until it gets so hard to shepherd them forward that they surely must be leaning backwards in exhaustion. These are the parents who, in a few years, will get into endless screaming matches with their children about lifestyle choices, grades, and/or the people they choose to surround themselves with. Their children will resent them, and the relationship will be tested to its breaking point.

I'm talking about the parents who make a scene when they are told that their children aren't tall enough to ride a ride, all while the child him/herself is trying to calm them and meander to a different attraction. Or the parent who's too busy slipping countless unnecessary expletives into cell phone conversations to wave at their child as they race around the track, or worse, those who make phone calls while sitting in the race car with their child, explaining that the extra background noise is the reason for their elevated vocal volume.

So to all the parents out there, please cherish the time you have with your children, lap up the laughter and the shouts and the waves that they exude when you have given them the opportunity to be happy.

And for the record, I still love my job.