Day 6. Thanks so much for your cheers through this blogging marathon! 

A snapshot of family life.

Today was ‘take our kids to work’ day. Jessica chose me to go to work with me and also invited her friend Priya to join us.

The aim was to understand the workplace, careers, education, choices.

My aim was to dispel the myth that I drink coffee, do lunch and write blogs all day.

I mean I do those things… and a little more.

Our workday began at 8.45am and I gave the girls there ‘to do’ list.

This list consisted of:

Take out recycling, clean kitchen, vacuum up and downstairs, clean all bathrooms, tidy bedrooms, put clothes away, put load of laundry in, turn off all lights downstairs (it bugs me…)

This list needed to be completed by 10am when we would meet to discuss our plans for the day.

Jessica’s first question at around 9.05am was ‘how do you expect me to do all this AND get ready?’

Yep.

‘Not forgetting clean the mirrors.’

‘Mom, you make you’re own Windex? I didn’t know that’ Jess says in wonder, iPhone poking from the top of her leggings.

‘One more thing’ I added ‘can you put the beef in the crockpot. You will need to find out how to do this, what you’d like to cook with it and for how long’.

‘But that’s not on the list mom.’

‘No you’ll find a lot gets added to the list as the day progresses Jess’

Oh I was having fun.

At 10am. Jessica declared she would join Phil next year.

We discussed how our day would look; the girls then spent an hour researching questions for a blog. It seemed it wasn’t as easy as just ‘sitting down and writing.’

We moved onto lunchtime at the Hope Centre. Our introduction of ‘the table’ at 11.30 saw many visitors enjoying lunch provided by the members of the congregation.

The girls sorted and organized donated clothes.

‘Why do people donate stained, dirty clothes mom, can’t they wash them first?’

Good point.

My funniest moment came when a man walked into the Hope Centre declaring in an authoritative tone ‘I’m looking for Jessica Collins’

I jumped up, ‘Who needs to know?’ (…this is not the movies Michelle.)

Jessica at that moment was lounging on the sofa with her friend.

‘I’m from Rutland Middle School’ he declared.

‘Oh right we’re just in recess Sir’ I said. My 14 year truanting self resurrected for a moment.

‘So, Jessica what have you been doing today.’

‘Well, she’s been organizing the donated clothi…’

‘Maybe Jessica could tell me’

‘Ah yes…’ I responded.

He proceeded to chat to Jess, took a couple of pics of her next to clothes rails and off he went.

‘Recess over’ I said nervously.

I had a great day with them, I asked what they had learned from joining me in my workplace, their response:

* That the house is always tidy for a reason.

* How to make Windex.

* How to cook beef in a crockpot.

* That writing takes time.

* To stop judging people who look, smell, sound different.

* To open our eyes to those in need around us.

* To quote: You work hard, you have a routine. You’re not JUST a stay at home Mom.

* That we are clean, fed, privileged and not touched by poverty and we’re going to try not to be judgmental and we will donate clothes (washed and good quality)

I asked them a few quick fire questions:

How do you feel about poverty?

It’s always about third world but we see poverty here in Kelowna. There are lots of people on the streets, people are overlooked all the time.

What makes you angry?

Sassy, disrespectful, unkind people.

What concerns you?

Worry for friends and their choices. Worry about doing well, getting good grades.

What makes you happy?

Kind people, friends, eggnog, Miss. Vickies, friends, summer, friends, sleepovers, friends, skiing, friends. (There appears to be a theme.)

Finally, what are your thoughts about social media?

People think social media is negative. We don’t feel see it like that and we know to be careful. It’s where all our friends are.

‘In his book Hurt 2.0, which explores today’s teenagers, Dr. Chap Clark observes that the underlying force behind social networking is the drive for community. The high level of involvement of young people in social networking “might appear to adults to be an expression of adolescent narcissism, but … that is hardly the case,” Clark says, noting that online expression “is the currency of intimacy” for many young people today’. Do you agree? Read the rest of the article here.

To allow someone into my daily routine and space was challenging. But gave us all insight into one another’s worlds. There’s something powerful in that.

Cheering you hard workers today! Any other (Canadian) readers take their kids to work today?

See you tomorrow,

Love, Michelle xo