My Part-Time Boss, Mr. Pitt

after 15 years as a stay-at-home mother and freelance writer, i decided it was time to start working on-premises again-part-time. even though this decision came in the middle of the recession, i figured i'd take my chances and start looking.

for one entire year, i only came across three part-time writer jobs. i didn't get the first one because a former employee who had left the company when she had a baby decided she wanted to return. the second job eluded me because the writing needs were so specific (and nothing close to my experience) that i was surprised they wasted their time-and mine-calling me in for an interview. the third opportunity, well, i guess they just liked someone else better.

goodness knows they had their pick. i was competing against not only other part-timers, but full-timers looking for any port in a storm as well.

i started to google advice articles about moms returning to the workplace. apparently the 15 years i'd spent on staff and the other 15 i'd spent freelancing added up to me needing to be re-acclimated into office culture by doing an unpaid internship where i'd get trained by a 23-year-old.

i decided that perhaps my writing career would have to remain off premises and i would need to find a new way to create an on-site life. i thought of what else i do well and "helper, organizer, facilitator and all around person who takes care of everything for everybody" came to mind.

almost immediately after my revelation, i found a position as an assistant to a gentleman whom i've come to refer to fondly as "mr. pitt." seinfeld fans will remember that character as elaine's wealthy boss, who lived in an expensive new york city apartment building. that's pretty much where the similarities end, as my mr. pitt doesn't have a fetish for white socks, an aversion to fountain pens or a need to eat snickers bars with a knife and fork.

in a time when people can't find jobs, you would have thought that i'd have run around telling everyone of my good fortune (bragging rights, if you will). but no. even though i wanted the gig and felt lucky to be chosen, it was hard for me to come to grips with doing a job that i did when i entered the workforce in the 1980s.

after six months, though, i must confess that supplementing my writing career with being an assistant suits me. when i was interviewing for the aforementioned part-time writer jobs, as much as i wanted them to work out, i was nervous about appearing old, not physically as much as mentally when it came technology. and i dreaded the thought of going back into the world of water cooler gossip, griping over any/everything and competing for assignments, as well as the boss' attention. these had been all the things i was glad to get away from when i started freelancing.

there's none of that working with mr. pitt. i am his only employee and because he's about 20 years older, it makes me, once again, the hip, young one in the office. i do for him all the things i have to take care of for my own family-scheduling, errands, correspondence, the occasional powerpoint presentation, bill paying-except with salary. i'm enjoying my job and am proud to say i do it well. to date, unlike elaine, i have not let my mr. pitt go out with ink on his upper lip so that he resembles der führer. n

-- lorraine duffy merkl's debut novel, fat chick, from the vineyard press, is available at amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.