Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Patty asks

Hi Issac, I have 3 questions: 1) I would like to be an adoptive parent one day. What do you want current and future adoptive parents to know about adoption? 2) When I was growing up, computers, iPhones, Facebook, and Twitter did not exist. What do you think about technology and social media (Facebook and Twitter)? 3) What questions do you have for your readers? Thanks for your insights, Issac! I have learned a lot from you already! Patty


Quoting Isaac:
"Hi Patty- Here are some questions I have for the readers.  How old were you when you got your first job before you went to college?  I ask that question because my Mom was asking me and Hope and Noah what we would like to do for a first job? Also I would like to know where people that read my column live and how many kids they have if they have any kids." 

35 comments:

  1. Hi Isaac, I LOVE reading your column. We live in Uganda (although we are from Wales, UK) and I have 3 children. Love Keren x PS keep up with your observations of life Isaac - it's a gift.

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  2. Hi Isaac!

    Believe it or not, I was about your age when I had my first job. I think I started when I was 10-years-old. Once a week I delivered shopper newspapers (basically a little newspaper that had advertisements in it). I went to 4 blocks of houses in my neighborhood and put them on the front doors. I got paid 3-cents per paper I delivered and made about $6 US a week. Other jobs I had before I graduated college were babysitting, working at my family's grocery store, taking pictures at parties and working in an office. After college I worked at newspapers for 11 years as a photographer and reporter. Now I live in Haiti and work with kids and have the best job ever!

    Peace,
    Renee

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  3. Hello Isaac! I live in Minnesota, but have traveled to Haiti three times in the past year...hoping to make it here at least once/twice a year! I am actually here in Port au Prince this week. I have one daughter that is nearly 20 years old. My first job was at a snowmobile parts place when I was 17. I started babysitting for cash when I was 12. Thanks for sharing all of your fabulous insight! I had sent a question awhile back regarding what you think makes a great teacher. It would be helpful to have your answer this week if possible since I will be training teachers in Haiti this weekend. Blessings to you young man!

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  4. Hi Isaac,

    I began babysitting when I was 12. I got my first "real" job at 17. I worked as an office assistant at a doctor's office. About that time, I also worked for a church in their nursery.

    I live in Dallas, Texas, but I spent most of my life in Washington state.

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  5. Isaac,
    I love your summer blog!

    I grew up in Kansas, but now live in Texas. My husband and I have been married 23 years. We have 2 children. Our daughter is 21. She was homeschooled from 4th grade through highschool graduation. Our son is 14. He was homeschooled from K through 7th grade and just finished his first year at public school.

    I answered the job question on your mom's blog.
    Peace to you and your family!
    Suzy

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  6. Hi Isaac!
    I live in Spokane, Washington. Your Great Uncle Rick Porter used to be our pastor here a long time ago. He and your Great Aunt Dianne are great people. I've enjoyed getting to know your family in your and your Mom's blogs.
    I have 3 children, 29 and 27 year old sons, both married. And a 23 year old daughter who is a music student in Idaho. My husband and I are also grandparents to a 4 year old grandson and a 1 year old granddaughter.
    We homeschooled our 3 kids. I work in a college theater department and sometimes on making movies filmed here in Spokane. Those are pretty fun jobs.
    Thanks for writing about your life.
    Sincerely,
    Renae

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  7. Hello Isaac! Love reading your blog questions. I live in North Dakota( that is next to Minnesota).

    My children are grown. We have 3 sons ages,31,30,and 24. And our daughter is 23.I had many jobs as a pre teen and teenager. I babysat a lot(50 cents US per hour), cleaned at a farm implement store, worked on a sheep farm ( that included feeding, pitching manure, washing and drying sheep and taking them to sheep shows at fairs and such).

    Looking forward to reading more of your columns! Vonnie

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  8. Hi Isaac! I'm Kat, I live in a small town that is located right outside of Orlando, Fl. I have one daughter, age 21. That's all God and my body said I needed. I guess technically, my first job was newspaper delivery too around the age of 10. Then babysitting, then Smaks Famous Hamburgers (do they still exist? LOL) at age 14. I made $2.13/hr. From there, I *advanced* to McD's and worked there all thru high school, volunteering as a "candy striper" on days off. at 18, I went to work for Holiday Inn, Front Desk/Reservations and worked there until age 21. THEN I had my first degree and went to work for BCBS.

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  9. ps: Forgot to add, even though I live in Florida, I am NOT a native! lol I was born in Arizona and raised all over the world but mostly in the Far East. My dad was in the military. When he retired, we moved to Florida. He is a native Floridian. ;)

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  10. Hello Isaac! I live in Duluth, MN and right now it is flooding in our city! I have four children and really enjoy reading your column. Thanks for all of the excellent responses. I got my first job when I was 16 and I worked in a parks and recreation program during the summer and I cleaned an office building once a week during the school year! Take care!

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    1. By the way, my name is Alyson Thorson.

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  11. my first job was babysitting at age 11 and beyond. i still do it sometimes these days, and i'm 25!. my first "real" job was working in an office doing data work, and then my other summer job the next year was working in a print shop, helping screen print shirts - standing next to 600*F oven in 80+ degree temperatures was NOT fun.

    it made money tho!

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  12. Loved your answers, Issac! You are so wise beyond your years and I will keep in mind what you said about adoption if/when that time comes for me.

    I was pretty spoiled in that my parents never told me that I needed to get a job before or during college, though I did work some during that time. I was 18 when I got my first job, and I worked at a movie theater the summer before I went to college. It was a fun job at the time.

    I am a native Texan living in Iowa. I currently do not have any kids, but would love to adopt and give birth one day.

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  13. Hi Isaac,

    My name is Megan. I'm 14 and I live in Adna, Washington. My first job was working for violin lessons. I did weeding, helped build a fence and polishing cupboard doors and stuff when I was 10 then. My second job was doing laundry for a lady in assisted living when I was 12. I did that for a whole year to pay for piano lessons. I also saved enough to buy myself a bike. Now I don't have a job. My mom made reading your blog a summer assignment since we homeschool and go year round. But in the summer I only do catching up school work. Becasue we take too many breaks in the winter and I do a lot of music stuff then. I have a sister who is 8 years older than me.

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  14. I live in Haiti (up near the Baptist Mission in Fermathe) and will have my first baby at the end of September.

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  15. Hi Isaac, I'm Jennifer Jablunovsky. I live in Pennsylvania (not far from Pittsburgh) and have 5 kids. You've met my kids. Max came to swim at your house when we brought the twins home and you might remember Michou and John/Richardson & Mark/Ricardo. On one visit my daughter Ana & her friend, Natalie, made a cake at Beth's house with lots and LOTS of sprinkles and you liked it very much. I also visited once when your family lived in La Digue. If you're ever in Pennsylvania, you'll need to come to our house for a visit. :)
    Hugs!

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  16. Hi Issac! My name is Sally Marsolais and I live in Manitoba, Canada. Thanks for writing your posts, I enjoy reading them. I have two grown up children and a little 5 year old grand daughter. I wrote about my first jobs in an earlier post today; I liked working because it helped me buy things I wanted like slurpees, my hamster, and candy ;) I hope to come to Haiti one day! Keep up with your writing. Maybe some day you will write a book!

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  17. Hi Isaac---I live in Shreveport, Louisiana. I have 2 grown daughters and one of them, Callie, is the person who first shared your parents' blog with me. I have learned so much for all of you and am very grateful to be able to learn about a different culture and the many ways hat we are both alike and different. They always give me so much to think about--you do, too!

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  18. I love your blog, Isaac! I love reading your answers to everyone else's questions. I live in Ontario, Canada with my husband and our two little boys. Adam is 4 and was adopted from South Korea when he was a little baby. Benny is our bio son and is 2.5. Adoption is an awesome gift! My first job was when I was 11 years old, delivering the newspaper after school. It was a great way to earn some money of my own!

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  19. Hi Isaac, I've loved reading your responses to everyone's questions. I live in Kansas City, Missouri and I don't have any kids, just a cat! I started babysitting when I was 11 so I could buy fun things. When I was 15 I started working at an ice cream shop called Cone-A-Copia. I love ice cream so it was a great place to work. It was in a food court at the mall and there was an Arby's next to us. I worked real hard that summer so I could buy a car when I turned 16. I look forward to more of your answers!

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  20. Hi Isaac,
    Your blog is on my list of new favorites! I am 26 and I live in Austin, TX. I don't have any kids but I work with lots of them. You are such a great writer!

    My first job was at an indoor amusement park when I was 15. I would help clean the rides and make sure the kids were buckled into their seats. I made $5.15/hour. It was a lot of fun, but I always went home smelling like lemon!!

    Keep up the good work,
    Erin

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  21. Hi Isaac, Your blog is great! I have been reading your parents' blog for about 18 months now and love to hear how you're all getting on.
    I am British but I came to France 25 years ago as a missionary. I worked with a mission for about 5 years and then I got an ordinary paid job and help the Church as much as I can. My husband is a Bible teacher and I work as a bilingual secretary in Paris.
    We have 2 boys aged 14 and 8. I have always spoken English to them but they go to a French public school so they are bilingual too.

    I started babysitting when I was about 14 and then had various weekend jobs, including working in a nursing home for old people, I stayed overnight and did the night-time drinks and breakfast. Also I worked in a pharmacy on the counter that sold cough medicine.

    Well done with your blog!
    Larousse

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  22. Hi Isaac, I'm reading your blog from Ontario, Canada while my three year old makes pretend cupcake soup and my almost one year old naps. I grew up on a beef farm so I had different, non paying jobs pretty early such as picking up ground apples for juice, digging potatoes, cutting the grass with the riding mower, and starting around 14/15 driving the tractor to bale hay. Babysitting started around 13 and my first real job was working in the kitchen of a summer camp at 16.

    Susan

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  23. Hi Isaac! I love reading your blog! Do you know why I love keeping up with you? You remind me SO much of my youngest son. You two are the most positive people I know. And he's tall and smiley like you :) We adopted him from Haiti (he lived near the airport) 6 years ago, and now he's 17. Did you ever know Emmanie, who used to work for co-workers of your parents? We adopted Emmanie's son, too, and he's almost 19! Both boys just got back from visiting their families in PAP and can't WAIT to go back. I also have two daughters, who are 20 and 17. We are from Washington State. I am the Melanie who posted yesterday about catching chickens as my first job. You had a good idea asking everybody about that! Keep up the good work!

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  24. Hey Isaac! I'm a Floridian through and through, having been born and raised here. I also love to travel and see other parts of the country and the world. I've been to Haiti twice and LOVE it there, though it can be a different and difficult place to be.

    My first job was filing charts and papers at a doctor's office. I've worked many odd jobs since then, including working at a pet store! But I graduated college just shortly after your sister Britt did...and now I'm going back to school to become a Physician Assistant. They work with doctors to see patients and help make them better.

    No kids for me, yet! Lord willing, I will be married and starting a family in the next 5 years or so. But if that's not for me, then that's God's choice. =)

    Stay strong and sweet, Isaac! God is doing big things through you!

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  25. Hi Isaac. I live in a town that is close to Denver, CO. We live about an hour from the Rocky Mountains. We have five kids! Three of our kids are our biological kids and 2 are our adopted kids. We adopted Monika and John from Haiti over 4 years ago. I've been to Haiti 4 times and I really enjoyed my visits there.

    My first job was babysitting- I did a lot of that. My next job after that was working at a restaurant that served pizza and yogurt.

    I really like reading your thoughts. You have quite a bit of wisdom and insight- and I love your positive spirit.

    Laura

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  26. My very first job was babysitting, for .25 an hour no matter how many kids! But my first "real" job that was paid by a weekly check was being a waitress at Howard Johnsons when I was 15.
    I have 3 children. I have been to Haiti about 7 times now for short term missions trips. Someday I would like to serve God there. My youngest daughter withdrew from school in her junior year (she was way ahead) and lived in Haiti for 6 months right after the earthquake so she could help. She lived in Jacmel with our friends and did a lot of different things. She came back home and graduated high school and now she is in college learning to be a doctor (pre med). She goes back to Haiti at least twice a year for a month or so to visit her friends there. She usually stays in Jacmel and also visits near Leogane. This summer she also stayed in Port for a few days and got to visit her friend Shelly. I hope someday she'll also get to meet your family.
    My question for you is:
    If you could bring 1 thing from the US over to Haiti for the kids there to experience, what would it be?

    I am really enjoying your blog! Keep up the good work.

    Terri

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  27. Isaac,
    I live in North Dakota, which is next door to Minnesota! I live on a farm with my husband and our 7 kids~two whom we adopted. We have the opposite of your family~2 girls and 5 boys. It's loud here. :)

    My first job was when I was 15 in Texas and I gave samples from Chic Fil A in a mall. It was a super fun job. And not hard because the chicken is SOOOO good. Have you ever eaten it? The man who started it is a Christian and it's a great restaurant here in the states.

    I love reading your answers and think you're going to probably be a writer and motivational speaker someday!!
    Jana

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  28. Hi Isaac! I grew up in Ireland, but I currently live in Beirut, Lebanon. I am a teacher by training, but right now I am a stay-at-home mom to three children. The oldest is just over three years old, and the youngest is almost three weeks old.

    School holidays are LONG in Lebanon too, and I wonder if one of our children will have a summer blogging project like yours some day!

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  29. Hi Isaac! I love reading your answers to everyone's questions! :)

    I was born and raised in Texas. I still live here, in the DFW area. :) I'm a new mommy. I just had my first baby, a boy, in February. He'll be 5 months old on the 2nd of July. :)

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  30. Isaac,
    Thanks for answering my question on June 15th. My family and I live in Marion, Indiana -- not too far from Anderson, Indiana where Lori & Licia call home in the U.S.

    My husband and I have two sons, ages 10 and 12, whom we adopted from Haiti. We are working on adopting two more boys from Haiti, ages 6 and 9. Although we are doubling the number of kids in our family, we will still have about half as many kids as you have in your family! :)

    Keep up the great work on your blog!

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  31. Hi Isaac,

    My family lives in California, near San Francisco. We have four kids. Our boys are 9 1/2 and 2 1/2. Our girls are 6 and almost 4. We are praying hard aboutwhen we can move to Haiti also. Maybe we'll get to meet you some day soon.

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  32. Hey there, Isaac! I just started reading your parent's blog and found your column today. It's nice to meet you! My first job was as a lifeguard at the local pool. I was fifteen when I started doing that. I currently live in Memphis, Tennessee, the birthplace of rock-and-roll music, but I've lived all over. (I even lived in Haiti for a summer between years of college). I'm still studying in graduate school, so I don't have any kids of my own, but I plan to have many someday.

    I look forward to reading your column more in the future. You seem like a very special young boy.

    P.S. I like what you said about technology. It is so easy for us to allow it to become an idol or a God. Nicely said!

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  33. Isaac,

    Thank you for answering questions. My family lives in Colorado. I have 3 girls (age 10, 9 & 7) and we are in the process of adopting and bringing home our Haitian children (age 4 & 3 months).
    My first paid job was babysitting for a family that had 3 boys when I was 12. When I was still 12, I also started cleaning a house once week (I did laundry, vacuumed, cleaned bathrooms and did the dishes). After I could drive, but before college, I started working at a restaurant as a hostess and a cashier.
    Hope to hear more from you soon!
    Christy

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  34. Hi Issac,
    My name is Nancy and I live in Houston, Texas. I have three boys and their names are Adam(27), Grant(25) and Collin(22). I also have a 3 yr old grandson named Shepherd and an 8 month old granddaughter named Evie.
    My very first job was babysitting at age 13 and 14. Then I was a lifeguard during the summer at age 15-18. Then I went to college at The University of Texas at Austin!

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Hi! I'm Isaac. Ask me anything!