Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Sometimes I Wonder, What You Gonna Be?

A general, a doctor, maybe a emcee?

Ellen wants to stay home with her kids when she has them and she'll probably blog, but she doesn't want to go to work. I don't blame her. Going to work is for suckers!

Sam takes hard classes, has awesome friends, runs fast and a lot. He's doing an internship with a local music biz guy next semester. He's interested in sound engineering. He loves and has great taste in music, which I TOTALLY take credit for. I've worked harder on that as a mom than nutrition. I keep trying to talk him into being a lawyer. But he isn't interested in being one.  Sam has the aptitude to do anything. We'll see.

Maggie sings in choir, is watching FNL, has impeccable taste, likes design, and possesses social graces that can't be taught. She gets all As. She could do anything. I wonder what she will do? I wish they talked more in Young Women about education and flexible jobs that women can take breaks from or work from home when they have kids. Maggie has some great YW leaders and school teachers. I think the conversation for women and work is changing and becoming more helpful. When I was young it was fine, but it was kind of all or nothing. Like, at church they talked about how being a stay-at-home mom was best. And at school they talked about doing anything you wanted, getting an education, and especially about how great it was for women to go into engineering. The 2 were not reconciled. This is what mothers have been doing for the last 50 years though. Figuring it out. Let's talk about which industries are more open to flexible work arrangements. Let's talk about how you "quit" a career and go back to it, or put it on hold. Seriously, how?

I'm assuming Maggie gets married and has kids. I CAN'T WAIT TO BE A GRANDMA. I fantasize about it. I have older friends who are entering that stage of life and it seems pretty fun.

Ideally, Ben would grow up to be a Mythbuster. He plays the guitar, solders, understands how things work, and loves comics, The Hobbit, Doctor Who and Sherlock. He says he wants to do special effects for movies when he grows up. I like the idea of Sam and Ben working together providing full service sound and special effects. I'm sure they'll change their minds. Just as I think about jobs that would be conducive to families for my daughters, I think about it for my sons. I would like Ben to get a PhD and become a professor. But that's how comic book villains always start out, so maybe it's a bad idea.

Maybe they'll get jobs that aren't even considered "jobs" now—like blogger. That's my job and it certainly didn't exist when I was a kid.

What do you want your kids to be when they grow up? I think it might be nice to have a real estate agent or a pharmacist in the family.

7 comments:

  1. Emily3:11 PM

    I always wanted to be a stay at home mom, and I absolutely chose my major (and masters degree) in a field that allows me to work from home. If I were going to have a regular old boring job (suckers!) I would have chosen a different field entirely.

    People often comment on how "lucky" I am that I can work in my chosen field from home. Luck had nothing to do with it!

    Also, I have many engineering friends who have left and gone back to the company multiple times depending on their children's ages. They also work part time, part-time from home, 1/4 time, etc. The lack of women in engineering means that if a woman is willing to work for a defense contractor in any capacity, they make it happen. Who knew?

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  2. I just want them to be happy. And rich. Super super rich. And not live in my basement. So, probably a reality star.

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  3. I selfishly hope for a massage therapist or flight attendant. My sister is a flight attendant and my parents fly free. I would like my kids to give me that gift. Free massages? Ok.

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  4. A dentist would be so nice, because we all know that dental insurance is practically non-existent and will prolly disappear. But really, my dreams are like La Yen's: just be happy and get out of my house.

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  5. I also have a kid I wish would be a professor but wants to b a mythbuster. Another kid wants to be a sculptor, and another a rock star. He's seven, got a fender mini for Christmas and is going around the house playing it shirtless. I just tell them to get good grades so they can keep their options open, and end up doing something interesting instead of something boring that makes them miserable that will lead to mid life crises.

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  6. I just tell my girls to marry well and stay home with their kids. It is the world's best job. Plus you get to snack all day without anyone seeing you do it.

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  7. Our young women were part of a tri-ward event where they explored career presentations. They rotated every 15 minutes and got to hear women in the stake talk about their jobs. All but one were jobs they could do part time or from home, well-paying jobs. It was practical and exciting, and didn't take away from the importance of a mom in the home. We loved it.

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