Take your Dad to Work Day

This past Wednesday my company held its annual "Take your Child to Work Day". This was the first year that my youngest was old enough to attend. I had offered to take the youngest with me and leave her sister at home as the oldest had gone to several of these days without her little sister, I thought it would only be fair to offer her the chance of going on her own. At first she was very excited about the idea of spending the day at work with just her dad, but as the day drew near she decided it would be more fun to have her sister come too. The result I had twice as much help for the day as I had expected.

The day started on pretty shaky ground when I woke the 2 of them up just before 6am. I could tell they were preparing to protest the hour of the awakening when they remembered the reason. The anger quickly changed to happiness as they nearly jumped out of bed and into the clothes they had laid out the night before. They had brushed their hair and teeth before I managed to finishing getting ready myself. I was nearly pushed out the door in their eagerness to spend the day at my office.

The excited died down a bit during the 30 minute commute (I think at least one of them dozed off) but once we got to the office they perked right back up. I gave them a brief tour of the building, bought them some tater-tots from the cafeteria and we settled into my desk. They enjoyed playing with the various tools I use every day without a thought. The desk that raised and lowered itself, the phone that is dialed by the computer, the filing cabinets with the cushion seats on top; all these seemed wonderful to them.

One of the most important aspects of my job is a recorded interview that I do to investigate certain events. So that the girls could get a taste of what my day is like, I scheduled one of these interviews to take place while the girls were there. I set up a spare headset so they could listen in, and I proceeded with the interview. I was not sure what the girls would think of it, but they were fascinated. Once, we finished with the first interview, they instantly begged to be able to listen to more. We spent the rest of the day on the phone investigating various events. They loved every minute of it.

We finished the day (OK half day) with lunch with my co-workers. While the girls were very quiet, my colleagues were thrilled to have the girls there. After a filling lunch of chicken strips and curly fries we left for home. Both girls excited about the next time they could go to work with daddy, because (unbeknownst to me) I have the "most awesome job in the world". I have never felt prouder of what I do than I did right then. Now, I am the one looking forward to the next time they can come to work with me.