Like Liberace on the Keys

Back in the day, my grandmother preached to me the importance of being able to type. When I was younger I didn’t get it, but as my grandmother was a formidable woman – I listened to her and paid attention in typing class. Let me tell you, this was not an easy thing, as I had an insane crush on the guy who sat next to me. I have trouble remembering his name, but he was a soccer player (oh, they were all soccer players for me back then.)

But I digress, as I was tippy-typing away on a real typewriter (no keyboards for us in those days) and continuously being barked at by my typing teacher (also my basketball coach) – I considered my grandmother’s advice. Maybe she had antiquated views on the types of professions that women could have. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that women could be doctors, lawyers or professional wrestlers these days – that not every woman was destined for a steno pad.

But since I wanted to be a journalist, I figured that typing was a decent skill to possess, so I got an obligatory A- in Typing and moved on.

It wasn’t until today, nearly 20 years later, that I realized her obsession with typing. It wasn’t about pushing me towards a skill set that would snag me a particular job – it was about keeping me out of OTHER types of jobs.

I mention this because today I picked up my first pair of steel-toed boots.

I work in a factory environment, and while I reside happily in the land of office weenies, there are many opportunities to wear shoes that will withstand being run over by a forklift.

And while I don’t mind a hard day’s work or getting my hands dirty (let us talk one day of my stint as a corn detassler or my foray as a hotel maid) I am finally able to understand what my ol’ grams was up to with her badgering.

See, my grandmother wasn’t trying to saddle me with a life as a secretary – she was trying to keep me out of lives that included a hairnet, an apron, and most definitely the steel-toed shoes.

It's okay, Grandma – I’ve still got 60 words per minute in me. Don't worry about the assembly line just yet.