Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day is April 22nd this year. This is a unique opportunity to teach our daughters and sons about work, career and priorities. Last year at this time, I was unemployed. This year, I am working part-time. When I was laid off last year, my husband and I told my daughter that Mommy wasn't going to be going to work anymore but that I would be looking for another job. She accepted this with characteristic aplomb, natural to an eight year old. Since then, she has witnessed some financial downsizing but this past year has not been a traumatic time for her. My husband and I wanted to be honest about our situation without being gloomy. She knows that we don't go out to dinner and movies like we used to. But, we have a weekly movie night at home with a dvd from our own collection or borrowed from the library. She knows that I used to work a lot more hours and sometimes have to travel for work. Now, I'm home almost the same time she is every day, able to check her homework and ask her about her spelling test. She knows that my paid work helps one person (my boss) and that my volunteer work helps lots of people.

So, what does my work say about me? I hope that my daughter knows through my work that I care about our family and our community. That any job that offers an honest wage is a good one. And that a career is often made of ups and downs and that how you handle both says alot about you.