Kate Dyer-Seeley  

The mantra this week in our house has been, “I’m not getting a work job.” A perfectly timed declaration as Luke heads back to preschool. 

“You see Mommy,” he said while packing his action figures into a Ziploc baggie, “I don’t need a work job because I’m just gonna live with you forever.”  Such sentiments must be cataloged and documented now as surely they’ll slip away once we enter the hormone induced teenage years. 

It’s easy to understand his lack of motivation after a summer spent in nature.  We filled our days with hikes to hidden waterfalls and discovered treasures like shiny rocks and bottle caps along the way.  We paid little attention to bedtimes or balanced meals.  ”Work jobs” were not part of our summer conversations. 

The return to school, the reality of a daily schedule and calendar filled with activities prompted Luke’s radical announcement:  he will not be getting a work job when he grows up.  If the issue is forced, he might consider a career path in dog walking, but with the caveat of only walking one dog at a time.  Otherwise he will be content to live at home in his own bedroom and play in the dirt.  This is where I see my dreams of my son becoming a professor or doctor fading away, replaced happily with the vision of my four-year-old  content doing absolutely nothing.  

His mantra resonated with me.  In this generation of gadgets and technology it feels like the focus is often on getting ahead, believe it or not even in the preschool years.  I see his refusal to decide what comes next as a minor accomplishment.  They’ll be plenty of time in the years to come for career planning but for now I’m thrilled I have a slacker son.            

This entry was posted on Thursday, September 4th, 2008 at 9:24 pm and is filed under Made Me Laugh, Parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.