pondering ... job, career, work, employment

Presently, I am quite interested in these words and what they mean.  I am intrigued by their many contexts and connotations.

I always have worked, it's just a matter of where and doing what.  I have been employed most of my life.   

Since I was 14, I had a job, which I thought of as a place to go to work in exchange for pay.  Some jobs were better than others, but each served a positive purpose.  I worked hard because I was raised to have a good work ethic.  I often viewed my jobs as a means to an end, and part of a bigger picture in which I had a career. 

That career came because I was driven.  That career went because I didn't drive it very well.

For about 6 months, I didnt' have a job or a career, but I still worked.  That work perhaps was harder than anything I had done before.  I worked to take care of my Dad during what ended up being the last days of his life.  I also worked to figure out what I next would do with my life.  I worked to figure out whether I would continue with my career, put it on hold, or do something entirely different.

I then took a job with a company.  I've been there almost seventeen years; everything's the same, but different.  The job has changed, the company has changed, the location has changed, but it's still the same.  I hadn't thought of this as my career, but perhaps I should.

How does the word employment fit in?  I am employed.  I have a job that I can call a career. 

Okay, now I am getting overwhelmed....  Add the work work to the equation, and....

I am a Mom, and, therefore, I work.  I am a daughter, wife, and family member, and, therefore, I work.  I am a woman who wants to be financially secure, and, therefore, I work.  I am a person who wants to be fit and have fun, and, therefore, I work. 

The reality is that I am working most of the time, though the details of what I am working on vary tremendously.  That's okay, and that's my choice.