What I Want to Be When I Grow Up

There are two professions that fascinate me and for most of my life, I’ve fantasized about taking one or both of them on. When I grow up, I want to be a truck driver or a mail carrier.

No joke. Well, half-joke.

A trucker came to my school when I was in 5th grade and delivered a “day in the life” presentation to my class.  He gave us a tour of his rig (which lasted all of 60 seconds), instructed us in driving safely around 18-wheelers (Keep out of the NO ZONE), and proudly scratched the ears of his mutt-companion saying that dog really is man’s best friend. He told us about seeing the whole stretch of the nation in all weather conditions, and that he truly loved what he did and wouldn’t trade it.

I was sold. Sure it would be lonely at times, but if I had a dog and a camera, I would love my job behind the wheel. I totally romanticized it, not even considering safety hazards, how to make it on your own, buying a truck, or the hours and hours of sitting and probably developing health issues with my diet of McDo fries and chocolate shakes. It was the thrilling idea of driving through mountains, on the coasts, and through rolling hills of wheat and corn that delighted me; my 11-year-old self ached to be 18 just so I could sign up.

About as much as I want to be a trucker, I think I’d love being a mail carrier. Growing up, our mail men drove trucks to each mailbox, made their deposit through the squeaky door, let it snap shut and drove another 40 feet to the next one; I had no idea who they were. But now my mail lady walks her route, slipping mail through slots in the door and waving to neighbors as she makes her way merrily. We chat almost daily. I make her cookies and chase her down with lemonade in the summertime and she gives me a bottle of water every time she sees me pushing my kids in the double stroller around the block. I would love to be in her shoes. Despite the monotony of the daily route, I think it’d be fun to deliver birthday cards and coupons and get to know my “deliverees.” Granted, I’d have to drop the bills and eviction notices along with the bits of sunshine, but I could get some great exercise every single day.

photo by Fifth World Art

It’s safe to say that I’ll never fulfill my dreams of driving a big rig or slipping birthday cards into someone’s mailbox; but the good Christian spirituality found in both of these positions is undeniable. It’s the traveling aspect of truck driving that draws me in – getting a real, comprehensive glimpse of the United States from sea to shining sea in pure spiritual solitude, with plenty of time to experience the magnificence of God’s creation in the quiet of my soul. The joy in being a mail carrier would lie in the day-to-day ministry and interactions with people; along with truck driving, I’d be a mobile missionary trying to be a witness of Christ to others. I’d deliver the good news with a smile and the bad with sympathy, and I’d have the chance to habitually pray for each family as I dropped by their houses.

Would I pick either job over the one I have now? Traveling across America or having killer calves over being the dreaded Tickle Monster, writing as a Catholic columnist, or kissing my husband hello from work? Never. Sure, it’s kinda funny – a trucker or a mail lady – but there are some folks out there who genuinely yearn and aspire to certain professions that they’ll never have. Regardless of your work (fantasy or not), the joy comes in finding Christ within it. Considering each job at its base, I want to glorify God and see his handiwork for myself and I also want to be a channel of Christ’s joy and peace to others. I will strive to achieve both where I am, and thereby accept from God the dream made reality.