Bring Your Child to Work Day 2013

NOT just another day at the office
Fun fact: kids love getting a day off from school to go to work; parents love to get a day off work to go to school. Aaron accompanied me to the office today for Bring Your Child to Work day and raved about his experience. In a couple of weeks, I will be chaperoning Aaron's outdoor school trip (I'm predicting a raving experience, but be sure to check back later for the full story). I'd wager that most jobs are rote and tedious and boring and unimportant (unto themselves)--but somebody needs to do them, or we wouldn't be able to enjoy much of this wonderful world. So I'm encouraged that Aaron shows so much interest in learning about what happens in my particular business.

Aaron and friend built the tallest structure
Last year we rode our bikes, but Aaron had band practice after school so we rode the bus so Meg would have an easier time picking him up in the afternoon. In between free breakfast and lunch, we attended four break-out sessions together: ADP-themed Jeopardy, marshmellow/straw building, lecture on computer networking (yawn), and board game that simulated computer programming--the last activity was the only repeat from last year, so I appreciated the ever-changing menu. Most of the activities have nothing to do with what we do at ADP, but perhaps the value is just being in the office seeing what adults do during the day.

After lunch we exited the building for a brief walk in the urban landscape to breath some fresh air and soak up some spring sunshine. We hit the exercise room for some brief fitness, then headed back to my desk to experiment with some of the new technology that I have been working on lately. We finished the day with a team meeting, in which Aaron learned that bringing treats to your teammates is a great way to make friends and influence people for good.

Aaron hopes to attend next year's festivities, and I hope to bring Edward along, too, as he will now be old enough, and more of the world needs to meet and experience Edward.

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