What Will I Be When I Grow Up? Scrounged From My Office Files

How do our children find role models?

I was rummaging through some old files at work when I ran across some writings and mementos from my daughters.

… A clip art Valentine depicting me at the office

… A “While you were away” homemade note pad, complete with a “refill now” note at the end(!). Remember those? For receptionists to write out messages for workers who missed a phone call or visitors? Yes, people were paid to write out messages for others. I’m guessing this “note pad” was Michelle’s handiwork (with two spelling errors she’d never miss today).

I was smitten, of course, with these things I’d saved …

Even notes they typed playing office at home when they were older, likely on a snow day …

Now that my daughters are all happily situated in jobs related to their college majors, it amuses me that they are all office workers just like me—even though in different fields and specialties. I never like to reveal identifying specifics here but one is an advertising account manager at a large city newspaper, one an artistic administrator for a medium sized city symphony, and the third works as a certification coordinator for a national environmental organization.

From my youngest. Always a great note to find on a Monday.

If I had become a nurse or doctor or teacher or store manager would we maybe have ended up with one of them in education or medicine or retail? Much more likely. I always encouraged them to go into the medical field because I don’t see it being phased out anytime soon. But I am very happy with where they are!

“Braces” by Tanya, the only one who never wore braces.

My dear husband would be quick to tell you he always told them (when they needed egging on with their homework or brought home a lower grade): “You can mess around in school like I did and end up in factory or warehouse where there’s no air conditioning in the summer and no heat in the winter like me, or study and do well in school and end up working in a nice office like Mom. Take your choice.”

Of course there were a lot more choices than that but that was The Dad Sermon. And apparently effective—they didn’t really bring home low grades very often. (There were also cash incentives.)

But they did like to play office and library and bank. They also played the “poor” game when they dressed up like ragamuffins and scrounged nuts and bean pods off the “cigar tree” (Catalpa) for their pretend food. Not sure where that came from but their marvelous and active imaginations, and perhaps their experiences in our church and helping with the church Clothes Closet.

The other discovery I loved in this file were early drawings that I had actually dated (yay Mom).

“Please be QUIET” by Tanya, 8/87

“Don’t comb my hair” by Tanya, 8?87

… which are interesting now that my grandsons are getting a little older. The older of the two, Sam, now 21 months, has begun scribbling and for Father’s Day added a “drawing” and “name” to the card for Grandpa (below).

Not only that, look at how his mother labeled his drawing—just like I had labeled hers years ago.  She hasn’t seen her drawings for many years. So where does that come from?

Finding patterns, and loving it! Of course the patterns can be negative, as well. But we won’t talk about those here. And while our daughters have not followed their dad into a factory warehouse, I love that somehow he managed to raise all of them so they are handy around tools, don’t mind outside or dirty work, and are more concerned about their work ethic than wearing huge amounts of make up or designer labels.

Two years ago, when two of them were expecting.

Best of all, they love their new roles of mommy, and auntie. Maybe seeing patterns there, too!

Homemade computer card from our first computer & dot matrix printer.

Did you end up in a job like your mom, or dad? Have your children followed their parents into similar fields? I’d love to hear your stories!

What other patterns do you see through the generations?