Showing our daughters that working is good

One of the questions our older daughter usually asks me when I get home in the evenings is what I did at work that day.

So I answer: “I read stories and…” I take a long pause as I try to search for how to explain the word edit to her but fail so I just continue and say, “edited them”. Of course the inevitable questions pops up. “What does edit mean?” I am forced to find the words to describe it and in doing so, realise it is not as hard to explain.

I tell her I made sure the words were the correct spelling, had the right punctuation and were not too many. That was my answer for two days. On the third day she wondered if that was all I did all day. It sounded boring and monotonous to her. So I racked my brain and told her I answered emails and spoke to some people to tell them how to write better.

The question pops up at least twice a week so I am now thinking of ways to show her how interesting my days in the office are. My work is interesting. It’s just not so exciting to talk about at 8pm in the evening when all I can think about is supper, a hot bath and sleep (or a quick viewing of the Food or BBC Entertainment Channel.

I just discovered Come Dine with Me and oh boy, I love it)! But I must answer this question so I need to find a way to make the question and answer time enjoyable for both interviewer and interviewee.

It’s getting better. Sometimes I pull out the newspaper and show her what I did the previous day and what it looks like in the current day’s issue. Other times I talk about some of my workmates she knows and tell her what I did with them.

I appreciate these talks now because there are things I want our daughter and her sister to learn. I want them to take pleasure in the work they do when they decide what profession or job they will have for the rest of their lives.

I want them to know that it is important to work hard to do a good job, not just for the money (which is important) but because they ought to do their best with whatever they lay their hands on. I want them to learn that thought work might come with challenges, it is good because it is a way of giving back to people and of learning teamwork.

Very importantly, I want them to know what I feel, which was aptly said by a woman on the website Humans of New York. She said: “I have a little girl at home that I love so much, but I also love my job. Part of me wants to be home all the time to see every little change she goes through. But part of me feels like I owe it to her to be what I always wanted to be.”
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