Let me first confess that I usually enjoy my coworkers' children's occasional visits to the office. It cracks me up to see children I've know since they were toddlers sitting at the reception desk answering the phone, and I'm always happy to participate in schemes like pencil sharpening businesses. But I do not find the presence of my child in my workplace appropriate, helpful, or entertaining. However, given that my office has been closed since before Christmas and I was out a week ahead of that with pneumonia, I am just buried in work and needed to get in there, even though Sophie's school does not start until tomorrow. She had spent New Year's Eve with my mother-in-law, and I thought that the mil needed a break. And Sophie did not want to go there. She was excited to go to the office. And I do have an office with an actual door.
So off we went. Thank goodness she brought her Calico Critter carrying case that my parents got her for Christmas.
She played quietly with it for nearly fifteen minutes.
She's much happier than I am at this point.
Then came her favorite part of the day: helping deliver the mail. She's lived for this opportunity since she was about two. So the mailroom guys loaded up the cart and sent her off.
Successful on her first run, she came back for more, which was when this knucklehead, Mailroom Ken, loaded a particularly heavy package on the cart and instructed her to tell the recipient "Now take this shit off the cart!"
As I walked her to the elevator, she asked me with a worried look, "Should I really say that?" I said "Absolutely. But be sure to tell [the person] that Ken told you to." God, I love that man.
We survived until lunch, when we took out my coworker and excellent friend Sam out to lunch to say thank you for taking care of our pets while we were gone over Christmas. He's known Sophie since she was a baby and was, in fact, her first babysitter. She loves him, and thankfully I don't have to provide any explanation of why he feels it appropriate to drink salsa from a water glass. That's just him.
After a trip to the public library, Sophie finished up the day with some nutty "contest," where coworkers of mine signed their name to "documents" she printed off my computer. Sophie folded them in two, picked several winners, and awarded them with coins from my parking meter change bowl. I love these people for being so patient and generous with her.
Thank goodness Sophie's violin lesson was at 3:30 and we had to LEAVE. And THANK GOODNESS school starts tomorrow and we can all resume the schedule on which we thrive so well.
1 comment:
Sounds like a fun day for Sophie! The bit about delivering mail was hysterical! I can't imagine the recipients face when she delivered that message, it's must have been terrific.
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