It was grade twelve. I had a job as a telemarketer for a steam cleaning company, and I was at the top of the world.

Sort of.

“Hi, this is Darlene from World-Wide Carpet Cleaning. I’m calling to let you know about a half-price carpet-cleaning special. That’s where we’ll clean your living room, dining room and hall, for only $39.95…”

The secret was to get as much of our spiel out without interruption, finally closing with, “We have an opening on Monday afternoon, can we do it then?”

My friend Lisi and I were two of their best employees. She was a blue-haired punk rocker, with the tallest Mohawk in town, and I was preppy in pink. We were opposite in so many ways, but one thing we had in common is that we cleaned up pretty good when it came to commission. Cha-ching!

Things were clicking along until I hit a wall. It was exam time, I was working five shifts a week, and I had some dating to do. Something had to give.

I didn’t expect to start crying, but once I sat down across from the boss I just couldn’t stop. It wasn’t that I wanted to quit the job, I just knew it was time to hang up my phone and get some studying done.

Oh and dating–I wanted that too.

Walking out of there I felt like a million bucks. I was blown away by her kindness and the fact that she had just shared a box of tissues with me. They didn’t want me to quit.

We decided that I’d take some time off until I was ready to come back to work. How nice was that?

Not very. 

[Read the rest of the article at The Chuppies, where you can also enter to win a copy of my new book] 

Today and every Tuesday, I want to invite bloggers to link-up any blog posts that will encourage women to joyfully live out their roles as wives and keepers of their homes I’m looking for posts on marriage, parenting, housekeeping, recipes, etc.

Please note that the opinions expressed by the participants are those of each individual blogger and may not necessarily reflect Time-Warp Wife. Wisdom and discretion is advised. Thank you! Note: If you don’t know how to join in, but would like to share your blog post here too, I have created a step-by-step tutorial to guide you along. Click here for instructions.