You want fries with that?

The Rotary Club came to Fern Hill Elementary earlier this week and distributed paperback dictionaries to the students. While in the classroom, the Rotarians asked the students, among other things, what their parents did. Katie said she said Dad "helped make medicine and worked at Endo Pharmaceuticals." That's pretty good, Katie, I told her (he doesn't help make medicine - he's a sales training manager, but I was impressed she got the company name right). I asked her what she said about what I do.


"Nothing."


"Why, Katie? Do you know what I do?"


lonnng pause....


"Sell hamburgers."


Say what??!?


I had a good belly laugh over that - you know, the kind that takes your whole body over and you can't help it? Nothing or no one has made me laugh that hard in a long time.  


So after I composed myself, I said,


"Katie, do you really see me going to work everyday and selling hamburgers??"


She considered this for a moment and finally said cautiously that yes, she did.


Oh my. She is truly blonde down to the roots.  


"Katie," I replied in my kindest voice, "I'm a lawyer."


"No you're not."


"Yes, I am."


Face scrunched up: "No. You're not."


"Katie, yes I am. I went to school and got a special degree just in law. I work every day as a lawyer."


She shook her head, pressed her lips together in that disbelieving, skeptical, cynical kind-of-way that says "YouAreFeedingMeALoadOfCrapAndI'mNotBuyingIt," and said quietly, almost to herself, "No...you're not."


So this morning I decided I would find out what Cole thought about what Mommy does for a living.  In the car on the way to the Y, I asked him,


"Cole, do you know what Mommy does every day at work?"


In a questioning voice, he answered,


"Ask people questions every day?"


Ah, yes, finally, he gets it! This boy is SMART!


"Yes! Yes, Cole! I do!"


I went a step further:


"And what is that called when I do that?"


He considered this for two or three seconds, then said,


"Polite?"


Another great belly laugh. 


"Cole, you're right, it is polite. But I'm a lawyer, and I do ask people questions every day. That's just part of the job, though."


Family movie night this weekend will be a viewing on TNT of old episodes of Law & Order!