Take Your Child to Work Day

Aha! Caught you again! It's cutting it close again, but hey, it's progress. So, today is Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. I always imagined today as a sort of job shadowing where kids could see what a job in the real world looks like. I can't say I ever really did that, but my parents' workplaces were definitely not mysterious places either.

My mom works in retail and my dad worked for the department of transportation and when I was younger, I would follow them into their work areas if they had to run an errand or something. When I was in middle school, I started to tag along with my parents to work before school. I would take the bus home from school, and while I don't remember the full reasoning why I didn't ride the bus in the morning, I think it had to do with the bus coming by ridiculously early, considering that I lived pretty close to the school. So instead of sitting a long bus ride, I would turn on Nickelodeon in the break room with a makeshift breakfast or play little computer games with a cup of hot chocolate from the vending machine. Looking back, I'm thankful that no one ever made a fuss to my parents about bringing me into work (well, at least not to my face).

There were some days where I would walk from middle school to my mom's work because she didn't work as late those days. Looking back, I could have used those times sitting in the break room to read or work on creative projects rather than watching TV as often, but hindsight is 20/20, right? Plus, it was nice to simply disconnect for a bit. I think this continued into high school for a little bit because we definitely lived too close to the new high school. (It was close enough to bike there in the summer for marching band with my trumpet case in my backpack.) Then again, I started to get involved with a lot of clubs/activities, so it turned from sitting at a parent's workplace to getting at school early for some form of practice. (Friends getting driver's licenses also helped because even though I didn't have a car, I could find rides home in the afternoons/evenings.)

Through these experiences, I did get to know some co-workers from each workplace. This was nice because I got to connect faces with names when my mom would share stories about work. If I had to answer the question of "What did you learn through all of this?", my first answer would be about how much behind-the-scenes work is needed to make a workplace function. This is mainly on the retail side, so it was more than just working as a cashier - there was inventory management, and professional development, and the behemoth that is scheduling hours for everyone. It helped me appreciate people who have careers in retail, somewhat similarly to how my role within University Dining Services at Minnesota created the same appreciation for those in the service industry.

Overall, I'm glad I had these experiences. Yes, I didn't get the full job shadow experience, and no, I couldn't have told everything my parents did in a typical day*, but at the same time, work wasn't this vague idea shrouded in mystery. It was work and while it wasn't always riveting, it always seemed better when people were enjoying each others' company.

*Even though I still ask this question in job interviews, I've come to realize that the "typical day" in a vast majority of positions just doesn't exist. So much can change day-to-day and it can be difficult to try to boil down everything you do into an 8-hour time frame. Maybe I should focus more on the "typical week"... still a somewhat ridiculous question, but a little more attainable.

Tomorrow is National Teach Your Children to Save Day, National Hairball Awareness Day, and Arbor Day. I could have saved the story about turning spare change into savings bonds for tomorrow, but I'll have to think of something else. Don't worry, I have a whole to mull over the possibilities.

DFTBA