My folks were tired of me lolling around the home all the time.
I took a year off after high school graduation, before making any life decisions! My folks seemed okay with that first year, however when a single year turned into multiple, several into several, and now I hadn’t worked for close to 10 years, they were disgruntled.
I loved staying at home. Mom did all my laundry, the cooking, and the cleaning. I came and went when I wanted, and picked up a few odd jobs here or there so I could have some fun money. Mom wasn’t having fun with my laying at the lake house most of the time, and I heard him grumbling to mom about it. I was sure that if I didn’t get an actual job soon; he was going to kick me out of the house. I thought I could get a straight-forward job, however that would not happen. There wasn’t an easy, straight-forward job available that would pay me enough to get an apartment, and getting a beachside house of my own was Mom’s goal. I was complaining to my neighbor about my folks, and he provided me with an odd look. He told me I was almost thirty, and it was time to act like a grown up. He said they had a class at the local community university, and I could earn my Heating and Air Conditioning certification in a year. Heating and Air Conditioning sounded to be a dirty job, despite the fact that I figured that I could try it. I did well in the Heating and Air Conditioning classes and then passed the certification test. I didn’t expect the instructor to invite me into his apprenticeship program, although he did just that. It took me over 10 years to find a suitable career, despite the fact that I am enjoying being an Heating and Air Conditioning specialist, and repaying my folks by doing all their Heating and Air Conditioning work.