People are often shocked when I tell them what I do for a living.
I am a groundskeeper at a local cemetery. It’s approximately 40 acres of land that has to be kept up regularly. We have to make sure the hedges are trimmed, the grass is mowed, and the place is kept up nice and tidy. I have to admit, it can be difficult especially in the peak heating and cooling seasons, but we are able to manage. On top of keeping up with everything, I have to coordinate burial services, assign plots, facilitate tours, and dig graves. This is very challenging work indeed, but it is fulfilling work. It has actually taught me a lot about perspective. I have found that no matter what kind of stress I am under, the stress of having loved ones die is by far the worst thing. No matter how I am feeling, I can see these people are always grieving to greater extremes than whatever I happen to be dealing with. This has helped me get by over the years as I realize that I have a pretty good life for the most part. I have a roof over my head, food on the table, and my family is doing alright. I have considered changing to other jobs, but I actually enjoy this type of work. If I did go for another career choice though, I think I would probably try to get into the HVAC industry. After the long days of working in the sun and in the cold weather, I think I would like to help work on climate control systems.