The 12-Hour Work Day

Hello and welcome to an MEA weekend Saturday here at the Wannaskan Almanac. Today is October 18th.

Hello, this is the now Fifth Grader talking (aka WAKWIR* 2.0), and today I'm going to be talking about going to work with my mom.

Okay, so picture this: you're a ten-year-old boy or girl, and you're home alone, playing video games all day. Your sister and dad are going to a concert, which just leaves you and your mom. Then it hits you: What does your mom's workday look like?

Because I wanted to do something productive for once at my mom's work, I decided to come with her. So I did. 

For the first couple of hours I was there, I didn't do much. I read a little bit of my Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone book. (Great book, by the way. This is my second time reading it.) Then I played on my mom's tablet for a little bit. The tablet was really glitchy, by the way. And then I played Roblox on my mom's phone for a little bit. While I played, my mom was having meetings. She was sitting at the computer, looking at the person (online), and talking to them. I couldn't hear what she was talking about, but it sounded important.

So, around the time, maybe just after my mom finished a meeting, my sister called. She was like, "Yo, can you pick me up from swimming?" And I asked, "Where's Dad?" And she responded with, "He's not picking up." So then, I walk over to my mom and I say, "Mom, we need to pick up my sister." She was expecting it, so no problem there. But I was a little unhappy I had to stop my game. 

After we picked my sister up and dropped her off at home, my mom and I were talking about what we were going to have for lunch. We decided that I would walk over to Dairy Queen, get some food, walk back, and then eat it. So we did that. As I walked across town through the trudging cold air, I finally got there. (Note: Mom gave me an extra jacket and winter hat for the trek.) I bought a 6-piece chicken strip basket and a medium-sized Oreo Blizzard. As I was walking back, I took a shortcut which probably took twenty minutes off my time. And then when I was almost back to my mom's work, I dropped the Blizzard! Thankfully, I had put a cap on it and shoved the red plastic spoon through the hole where you normally put your straw. And so I only lost a little.

When I got back, my mom was in another meeting. I was like, "Again?!" So, I silently shared the chicken strips and the gravy, and in the 6-piece chicken strip basket - guess how many there were? Not six, not eight, not nine! But SEVEN chicken strips in there! So that was yummy.

After lunch, my mom was like, "Hey, do you want to buy anything from Dollar General?" I looked down at my little bag of money (I bought lunch with my own money, by the way.) As my eyes looked down at my beautiful $50 bill I got for my birthday, I smiled and said yes.

My mom only allowed me to spend $25. With that $25, I bought a Robucks card for $10, a bag of beef jerky for $3, and a bag of candy for a buck. So, I bought those, and it cost about $15. Then I went back to my mom's work. She was on her computer doing something. And I said, "Mom, I bought a Robucks card! Can I claim it now?" She said yes. So, I followed the instructions, and then it hit me - "Mom, I forgot the password."

Thirty minutes later, I finally claimed the card by making a new account and creating a new password. When I told my mom I figured it out, she said she was glad I was able to solve my problem on my own.

Then I went to the library (at my mom's insistence). I read for a while, and then I came back. I played Roblox for a couple of hours while my mom worked with someone. By this time, I was ready to go home, but we couldn't because my mom was still working. 

Around 7pm, she finally finished her project. As we were walking out the door, I said, "Hey, Mom, we got out after the janitor! A new record!"

On the one hand, it was fun going to work with my mom, but on the other hand, it's not something I want to relive. The fun part was having lunch from DQ and playing lots of video games. The not-so-fun part was waiting for Mom to be done.

After our 12-hour workday, we finished the day by watching Joe Dirt. It's now one of my top three favorite movies. My favorite-favorite is Grownups. My second favorite movie is Pixels. And my third favorite is now Joe Dirt. (Mom says not to forget The Sandlot and other great kid movies from that era.)

Thank you all for reading the blog. I had fun writing it, and goodbye!

*Wannaskan Almanac Kid Writer-in-Residence