Solo Mother

Bring your kid to work

by christina on April 1st, 2007

I brought my son to work with me today. Yes, I’m working on a Sunday, why do you ask?

I brought him in for a variety of reasons. First, I have no idea what my father does. When I was a little girl, I had a hard time saying ‘attorney’. One night, my father brought clients home, one of whom indulgently asked me, “And what does your daddy do?” to which I proudly replied, “My daddy’s a big, Washington turkey!”

Depending on your opinion of lawyers, you might think that pretty close to the truth. Point is, I know my father has a background in law, but have only the vaguest of ideas what he does, other than he’s the guy who knows the guy you need to talk to to put the deal together. I’d like my son to have a better idea than that of what his mama does at the office every day. So I brought him in.

Offices are great, when you’re a little person. All those special pens, the chairs that go up and down, the mysterious business of well… business. And I have the added bonus of working in an architectural firm, so there are drawings and models and hard hats everywhere, and the recycled paper pile contains detailed plan and elevations for my son to draw over, in a Very Important Fashion.

He sat in an office chair at a wing of my work station and was  so good. He whispered. My son NEVER whispers. He was Busy. He stapled. He drew. He took notes. He pondered. He had to use the telephone to make a business call. To his grammy, of course. But what made my mama heart so full of joy was his obvious delight at sharing this heretofore mysterious portion of his mama’s life. He was so proud of himself, he could hardly stand it. Which brings me to another of the reasons I brought him with me for a little while today: now, when we are apart, he can place me in  a context that makes sense to him. Now, when I tell him mama has to go on a business trip for work, he can imagine more accurately what I do when I’m gone, and combine that in his little brain pan with the thrill of riding on a real train, and being in New York City (and in his eternally hopeful mind, I’ll run into Samuel L. Jackson up there and I can bring home a Real Live Jedi with me on the train), and always thinking of him, no matter where I am.

I’m off to write the final piece of a Major Proposal, eat some sushi, and get ready to go to NYC at the ungodly hour of FOUR SOMETHING in the MORNING. Which is why the King of Everything is tucked safely away at his Grammy and Grandpa’s house tonight. And without my office partner, I can finally get some work done.

Share This

Related Stories

Mothering on a budget
When you wan to make big changes, take small steps…
Self esteem for the newly single
Single mom needs a date
Snow day paranoia

POSTED IN: mother's guilt, sanity, work