I remember driving in the car with my daughter, Zara, when she was five years old.
“You know what I want to do when I grow up? I want to work in a store,” she announced.
“What kind of store?” I asked.
“A video store. Because I love movies.” she replied (yes, back then we still had video stores)
“Well…” I suggested, “Then instead of just working in a video store, why don’t you be the one who makes the movies? You could write them, act in them, produce them, whatever you wanted!”
Zara thought about my suggestion for a while, then let out a big sigh, “No, I think I’ll just be a Mom.”
“Oh really?” I laughed, “What do you like about being a Mom?? – the dishes, the laundry, the cooking, what?”
“Well,” she said, “When you’re a Mom, you get to buy as many books as you want. And you get to go to business meetings all the time.”
I laughed and laughed. Out of the mouth of babes and what little sponges they are! As a writer, books are my lifeblood, and yes, when we go to the bookstore, Zara gets to buy 2-3 books, and I get a big stack.
Since both my husband and I work from home, we go out several times a week for 3-4 hour business meetings over lunch. Our kids have obviously just absorbed the enjoyment and anticipation my hubby and I feel for our business meetings. And in their eyes, a ‘business meeting’ is now just about the best thing you can ever do. Of course, they are also picking up on the good spirits and high energy we come home with – since there’s few things that fire me and hubby up like a good brainstorming session, a long to-do list, a meeting with a new designer, or supplier, and an excellent meal with dessert.
My two year old son, Hugo, had also picked up on this. A few days after my car ride with Zara, he walked into my office, grabbed a piece of paper, a pen and my calculator and announced, “I go business meeting!”
Too funny.
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