Take Your Son To Work Day

I know. There's an official date for this. But when summer calls, and you work in a place that is even dog-friendly, I figure it's not such a leap to make July 1 an alternate day to celebrate.

So at 7:30 this morning, instead of spending his first vacation Monday sleeping in, watching TV, and perhaps playing in the sprinkler in the park, my son traveled with me to the train station I see every day, and for just a dollar added to my ticket, traveled with me to work.

The truth is, my work is fairly quiet these days, so his presence there was not a problem. And thanks to electronic gadgets, there was an endless stream of things for him to do while I accomplished my daily tasks.

And as he played and drew and observed while I worked, I began to get a sense of what work probably means to a kid.

Work means taking a train, which is often more comfortable than a school bus.

Work means having a kitchen stocked with things to put on toast, endless hot chocolate powder, cool cups with tops, and even spray whipped cream in the fridge.

Work means being able to order in Chinese for lunch.

Work means Wifi all day.

Work means doing a bunch of tasks that seem not so different from school--listening (to an edited show), taking notes (on how what the actors are saying differs from the script), and adding up stuff (amount of the show shot by each director).

Work means getting paid to do a whole lot of things a kid can do well, yet is done by grown ups who actually get paid to do it (and how come kids don't get paid?)

All in all, a highly successful Take Your Son To Work Day, even though the official one won't roll around till next Spring. And a great start to Summer vacation--even better than sleeping in and playing in the sprinkler.