Her First Job

My fifteen-year-old daughter, who has Asperger's started her new job today. She is working in an orchard thinning apples. We walked to work together and it was quite a hike but she didn't complain one iota. I told her she would have to get her Dad to take her before he goes to work and she could walk home after work and she seemed to like that idea. I watched as she handed her resume to her new employer and he explained what the job entailed and she looked into his eyes to show him she was really listening. I know how hard that is for her and my heart swelled with pride. He then showed her how the apples had to be five inches apart and if they were too close together she was to pick the smallest one and leave on the stem if she could. I stayed for awhile watching her as she followed his instructions and then finally feeling like she would be OK left her to her duties and made the long trek back home.

She came home at around 12:30 with a big grin on her face looking no worse for wear and showed me how dirty her hands were. My daughter is a avid handwasher so this struck me as pretty funny that she didn't wash her hands as soon as she came home, but she said it was a dirty job and my hands got dirty, no big deal. Was this my real daughter or had she been replaced???

Later I peeked into her room to check on her and she was fast asleep, looking like the angel she is. She worked hard today and I can tell that she is just as proud of herself as I am of her. She will go back to work at the orchard on Tuesday with a new found confidence for having mastered a new skill, my little girl is growing up.....sigh.

Happy Parenting

Monicka