A day at Daddy's work

Today was the annual "Take Your Child to Work Day", or, as it's known around our house, "Give Mom a Morning Off Day". Right now, Baylee and Rhianna are not being schooled (in a formal sense), and Peyton and Reagan are winding up, so they aren't accustomed to having to get up and get ready to leave the house before 8 a.m.

On the way in, Peyton asked me what it is that I do. I explained that I'm a corporate attorney, and she continued with "OK, but what do you DO!" I thought, and tried to explain to her how I review contracts, respond to potential litigation, advise on employment issues, etc. By then her eyes were glazed over and she informed me that it sounded very boring. Fortunately, for both me and her, she was not spending the day watching what I do.

While my job is boring, I do have the benefit of working for a great company that does fun things. By fun things, I mean they make food ingredients and products. I would give you the elevator speech (that's the fifteen second roundup of what the company does that we're supposed to be able to give someone if we are in an elevator and they ask, but I'm never asked, so I haven't bothered to memorize it". Our HR department coordinated a special program for the kids for TYCTWD. It involved them
working with actual food and ingredients and taste testing some of the things that we do (referred to as a sensory panel). They loved it. I wouldn't be surprised if Peyton didn't start talking about wanting to become a food scientist. A lot of the stuff we make does smell and taste good. Reagan, Baylee and Rhianna tasted some different syrups. Peyton tried some macaroni and cheese product and made clusters (if you don't know what clusters are, ask her and she'll let you know).

It was the first time for some of my co-workers to see all of my children. I'm amazed at some of the questions that are asked. "Are they sisters?" Of course they are, all of my children are siblings. "Are the other two yours or are they adopted too?" I just smile and say "They're all mine, and the ones with blue eyes are my biological kids." I'm not really offended by the questions, but I am astonished at the way some people view adoption. I suppose I would have used the same terminology before I adopted.

Tomorrow is a more normal "Leave your kids at home while you go to work day." Perhaps I should bring them into my office so they can see what I actually do. If they are under the impression that my day is anything like what they experienced, they're in for a big disappointment in a few years.