Take Your Daughter to Work Day

I loved Take Your Daughter to Work Day growing up. (and yes, it was daughter. I'm old enough that I remember when school & work biases and performance that followed were so overt that the day was birthed to inspire girls in the workplace.)

My heart was stirred as I watched my mom in the classroom deeply invested in the lives of her students. I saw my dad treat his coworkers with kindness and ask good questions. I sat at my dad's desk during meetings dreaming of what I might put my hands to. I traveled from school to school with my mom asking questions about her work. 

When we were growing up and a friend came over for dinner, my mom would often ask them, "What do your parents do for work?" They might give the title of a job or the name of a workplace. My mom would ask, "Hm. What does that entail? What do they do?" What usually followed..."Um. I have no clue." My mom was baffled each time and I was usually irritated or embarrassed by her question. 

Though I tried to ignore the questions, I was being formed by her questions and subsequent responses. My mom was essentially asking, "How could someone go to work each day and invest the bulk of their lives and not share it with those closest to them?" I was learning that work matters. It's more than a place we go to 9-5, but rather something deeply connected to us. 

I learned that there is something in us that longs for something significant and meaningful. I was formed around the idea that work is connected to curiosity and passion. Work should actually be discussed around the dinner table, not just left behind at a desk, linked to the desires of our hearts. 

I'm so thankful for influences that planted the seeds of a theology of work connected to creational norms of what it means to be human. We are designed to do things that matter, to cultivate creation in all its vast array, and live in a place of curiosity. Let's tell a few more stories about our creative passions as we feast with those we love.