Every year, IBM has a “Take Our Children to Work Day”. Audrey and Kate have been looking forward to another event this year for months. For them, it means sitting in my office and playing on one of the 40 computers (actually 5) in my office.
We load up their backbacks with books, coloring/drawing devices, and small toys. Then, they are allowed to entertain themselves for as long as I need to work. I don’t think they even pulled out their books this year because they got too busy on webkinz.com or pbskids.org.
IBM plans activities for the kids. This year we got some popcorn (with their friends Megan and Lauren), made some glittery artwork, and met some police officers. The fire department sent a “Fire Safety House” for the kids to experience. The “house” was a small trailer mock-home with a fog machine. The kids crawled through it like it was a house full of smoke, then could go down a slide to exit the house. When Kate poked her head out to go down the slide she was crying. She had lost one of her flip-flops in the smokey house somewhere. Luckily, the firefighter went in to find it for her since she was too scared to go back in.
We avoided the hot dog lunch in the cafeteria and enjoyed peanut butter sandwiches and fruit in my office. After lunch, Audrey and Kate watched “Dora the Explorer” episodes on my computer while I tried to get some work done.
I had a hard time working this day – not because the kids were there, but because the next day we were leaving town for vacation. I think my mind had checked out two days earlier from work!
Posted in Audrey, IBM, Kate
