Sometimes I’m just so dang cute with my naivety and ignorance that I just wanna pinch myself. Take today for instance. I’d seen postings for several positions with the local campus radio station last week and jumped on the band wagon pronto-like. I took care to contact the station manager directly to see if they really–REALLY–really would consider a Non-Traditional Student such as myself. You know…old enough to be their mother kind of a non-traditional student! We had a great little exchange of emails and I was encouraged to submit my resume and apply…so I did.

I even tapped out a witty letter with my resume and application explaining in a new way why I was experienced and they should want me and some of the wonderful things that I could do to help them.

I began planning for David and my future with all the extra money I’d be making doing something that I really loved. Today when I went in for my interview, I took great pains to wear professional clothes with a bit of attitude to them and my hair behaved even though the air was pregnant with moisture. I liked the way the offices “felt” and the people that I saw running in and out. During the first fifteen minutes of the interview, I felt confident and like I’d want to hire someone like me if I was interviewing me all the way until the coup de grace….when we began discussing the hours I could work, etc.. I explained about the classes I was taking, my part time job, writing, web radio interviewing etc. and somehow brought up the discussion of money which was when the gal said, “oh you realize that ALL these positions are volunteer don’t you?” Which of course I nodded my head and kept listening to her talking about the work that needed to be done.

If I was a cartoon character, my body would have frozen in mid-air and then shattered and nothing would have remained but my Cheshire grin smile. Finding out the job was not paid and having to act like it didn’t matter and that I was still really interested felt the same as if I’d finally been asked to coffee with a guy that I had a really big crush on only to learn that he was either married or only thought of me as a real good friend or was gay and I had to act like I was on board with his reality too!

But you know, I think all my years of meditating and learning and asking for wisdom and guidance came through because I found myself stepping up to the plate and when she asked me which jobs I’d be most interested in and began telling me further details about the volunteer positions, I juggled…..I suggested to her that she consider taking advantage of my experience and years in the business world and my nine years of coaching experience. That I’d be a really good person for her, as Promotions Director, to bounce ideas off of and use as a sounding board. I could certainly do that and I believe I would enjoy helping her. Besides, if I could get a half an hour time slot to put on my own interviewing/talk show using their board, it would be well worth any effort on my part.

So my friends, take a tip from me…when life hands you lemons….learn how to juggle them up in the air round and round till you regain your composure and can toss ’em up and behind your back and catch them in mid-flight and wing them around to your front again. It’s all how we look at things.

There’s just all kinds of things we can do with lemons!