No Summertime Blues

Besides babysitting, younger teenagers have little opportunity to earn money. This is especially true for boys, since most parents want a girl to do the sitting. Philip actually has a babysitting job. Rita, our friend down the street, pays him thirty dollars every other Thursday night when the kids are not with her ex-husband and she has her certification class. On a normal Thursday, Philip works from 5:00pm to just after 9:30pm to earn his thirty dollars. That works out to about $6.65 per hour. That is less than the $10 per hour most girls earn babysitting in Hernes. But given Rita’s kids are older (at ages nine and ten, respectively) he generally can do all his homework at the same time and once everyone’s homework is done watch TV that is age-appropriate for the nine-year-old, bur still reasonably appealing to him. And finally, Rita is a good cause.

For those who remember Rita from last Thanksgiving, her finances have improved as a result of some government-sponsored programs and taking a roommate, but she is not out of the proverbial woods just yet. This certification program will go a long way toward helping her attain a viable single mom’s income.

While babysitting has been a nice source of income for Philip, his truly lucrative job is refereeing. At twenty dollars per game to start, Philip is earning roughly fifteen dollars per hour. Like babysitting, refereeing is one of the few jobs available to younger teenagers. But it is not an easy job to secure. Officially, one can begin refereeing for pay at age thirteen. But the job requires certification, and the final certification exam is not easy. In Philip’s class, all the other fourteen year olds were taking the exam after failing it the prior year. Even some adults did not earn a passing grade. In Philip’s case, he barely passed. But barely passing was all it took.

Philip has taken on working for pay cautiously. In theory he could referee at ten games each weekend if he worked full days Saturday and Sunday. Gaining the experience would qualify him to referee in higher paying scenarios. But instead he chooses to only referee at one or two games each weekend. For Philip at fourteen, he leisure time is very valuable to him. His bank account is fat enough as far as he is concerned.

I am reminded of an old song called Summertime Blues about a teenager who cannot find a healthy balance between his job and his leisure time. In Philip’s case, he has no Summertime Blues.