I find it interesting that children love to pretend to have jobs that they would probably hate as adults. Take for example, my daughter. She currently can’t stop pretending to be a waitress. She actually asks me to boss her around and tell her what to do. Keep in mind, when I do this as a mother, she isn’t a big fan. However, when I’m acting as a customer, then suddenly that girl has the patience of a saint.
And then there’s my son. He loves to clean. He wants to sweep, wash windows, empty the dishwasher – everything a housewife/housekeeper hates to do. However, I have no doubt that in about fifteen years I’ll have to hold my nose when I visit his college dorm room and probably have to invest in a hazmat suit just for Parents Weekend.
So I tried to get my daughter to play a new game the other day. I said, “Let’s pretend to be teachers!” Her reply, “Ok, you be the teacher and I’ll be the student – tell me what to do and give me schoolwork to finish.”
So I started thinking. And it hit me. Maybe waitresses, housekeepers, teachers and every other occupation really aren’t that different. Someone is always telling us what to do, aren’t they? Geez, at least with waitressing you make tips… It would be awesome if someone showed up at my door with cash after I finished vacuuming and making dinner and said, “Looks great, keep the change.”
Ah well. At least I still get to tell my kids what to do…even if it is just pretend.
