'i asked my mother "what will i be..."'

next week, my son's preschool class will be learning about community helpers and, according to the note sent home to parents "other jobs that the students might like to have when they are older."

the note is actually an opportunity for parents to provide information about their jobs so our children can then present it to their classmates. i'm a bit torn by doing this. not because i oject to it. not at all.

it's mostly because my husband and i have rather boring jobs.

ok. i'm not knocking the stay-at-home mom thing. i love and appreciate the fact that we've had the opportunity to do this for the last few years. my bank account doesn't necessarily like hanging out by itself, and there are days that are mind-numbingly frustrating and i find myself gently stroking the framed copy of my college diploma (pulled from the box containing all my other career-focused trinkets now buried under stacks of rubbermaid containers filled with all sizes of kids clothes) and the promises it held, but i wouldn't change it for any amount of money to fill those empty coffers.

but how do you sell 'stay at home mom' as thrilling, something a bunch of preschoolers will want to consider as a career option when they get older and are disheartened by life? i once visited a preschool while working as a reporter and listened as one little boy shared his dreams of being a turtle when he grew up, so i know these career things are a hard sell when you have the mystique of the animal kingdom to live up to.

we have to include a description of what we do every day. i'm working on putting my best p.r. spin on it so my son stands up proudly and says, "my mommy takes me to the library every week, where we check out the same books each time, and has been coaching me on the fine art of properly wiping my bottom after going to the bathroom. she also makes excellent peanut butter sandwiches, and can quote oprah, who she claims is god and yet disparages her in the next breath. she doesn't mind playing star wars with me from time to time, as long as she gets to be yoda, but if you need her in the afternoon, don't bug her during her 'quiet time,' because she may be doing something i'm not supposed to know about yet."

notice i'm leaving out the part that includes a detailed breakdown of how much time i could spend on the computer if i truly allowed myself to be so carefree. blogging and keeping up is hard work, people! you can no doubt tell that based purely on this scintillating read alone. but i don't need the other preschool moms knowing about it. hell, they probably all have their own blogs, some much more interesting than mine, if you know what i mean.

so i'm off to the library and an afternoon of peanut butter sandwiches, "curious george" on pbs, a few short jaunts into the web that will be followed by a ton of hugs.

that probably trumps being a turtle.

but i may look up the job description of "spy" just to make things more interesting for the 4-year-olds.