Why I love my job

Here's me going to work tonight:

As I was walking the half-mile down the dirt road from the parking lot to "Girls Camp" in Redwood Regional Park this evening -- a warm, beautiful Friday around 6:00 pm -- I thought

"This is what I love about my job."

I'd been invited by my Girl Scout leader friends to come to a campout for middle school-aged scouts and do henna tattoos. It's kinda like I got paid for going camping, only I left before the s'mores.

After chatting with my friend while we set up her tent, I gathered the girls around the picnic table/henna salon to show them some design ideas, and began working.

My first time ever applying henna was about half an hour before I arrived, when my 13-year-old let me practice on her arm. Now these girls were putting their full faith in my skills, even saying, "I'm just gonna let you do your thing." Did I have a "thing??"

Here are some things I've been learning recently:

1. Once you've been labeled an artist, people believe you can do all sorts of things.
2. You probably CAN do all sorts of things.
3. You don't always need to admit that you don't totally know what you're doing.
4. Sometimes you can get paid for doing things you've never done before, and those can be really fun jobs.
5. Sometimes even when you admit you've never done something before, people will still hire you to do it because they believe you can.
6. They are usually right.

Soon the cricket chorus started and I needed a flashlight to finish the last arm. My clients were pleased with the results. Now I can add "henna parties" to my laundry list of "things" that HandyGal does.