Throughout Hallie’s senior year (she only went to school a half day) and up until she left on a mission she worked three jobs simultaneously; a law office, a tennis coach and designed blurb books. It kept her busy and it gave her the flexibility of hours she desired as a social senior and really boosted her mission and college fund.
Tonight we walked to the Christmas house in our neighborhood and I ran into a lady Hallie used to work with at the law office. She was so kind to ask about Hallie and then she shared how much she enjoyed working with her. She gave specifics as to the qualities and traits she appreciated as a teenage worker and one stood out to me – she was great on the phone. Her job required her to make regular phone calls and she did it professionally and with ease.
I had to laugh a little because phone etiquette for teenagers is a learned behavior and I’m not sure as a society we’re spending a lot of time teaching! I shared with her co-worker an experience I still chuckle about today. Hallie was almost 16 and we were having her make an important phone call to an adult in our church. She was reluctant and asked if she could just send a text message – but we wanted her to call. She was nervous and the first time she heard the voicemail introduction she hung up the phone. She didn’t know what to say in a message. So we talked it through and she called back and left a nervous voicemail and then forgot to leave her phone number. She refused to call back and leave another message. She was upset because in all of our instruction we never told her she needed to leave her number (we thought that was a given).
I actually can’t remember the details exactly, but I’m pretty sure we made her call back and leave her phone number. This is when Steve and I realized phone etiquette was not as intuitive as we thought it would be. We started having her set up her own appointments after that. It started with haircuts and teeth cleanings and oil changes. By the time she was preparing for a mission she had all sorts of appointments to make. Doctor check-up – call and set up an appointment. Wisdom teeth out – call and set up an appointment. (Which was actually funny because it’s Steve’s cousin and he was wondering why we went through his office instead of texting him directly and I explained Hallie needed practice!) She grew tremendously and learned how to use a phone. And her office staff loved her for it and praised her.
What’s funny is she was training her teenage replacement and she started explaining the phone calls that need to be made and the girl said, “Nope. I’m not making phone calls. I’ll do anything else but I’m not calling anyone.” Hallie just laughed and then realized she was serious. And in speaking to the co-worker tonight she confirmed the replacement hasn’t made a call yet! She was wishing she had Hallie back in the office who was as reliable as they come and willing to do all the things.
And because we’re talking about teenage workers…she also taught tennis lessons. A parent reached out to her two or three years ago and asked if she could coach their daughter. Hallie was confident playing tennis but not coaching and she was reluctant to take on that responsibility. By the time she was a senior, the same parent asked her again and at that point she was ready – she took on a single class of kids and because they were Briggs’ age, he also joined the weekly class. She thought she would have to stop during her tennis season but she just shifted. And before long she added another class and another class. In addition to her own classes, after she graduated she was coaching under two other coaches to help with their clinics.
Her students loved her. They were always showering her with gifts and homemade cards – in return she brought candy or made cotton candy for them. She will be missed on the tennis court!
