About Rebecca Eckler
Since becoming pregnant with her daughter Rowan, Canadian journalist and author Rebecca Eckler has penned three hilarious books, including the best-selling Knocked Up. Catch Rebecca’s weekly unique perspective on motherhood and single parenthood.
Mommy's Other Job
eckler plus one canada
(Dec.10.09)
Do your children know what you do for a living? Not once, in my daughter’s six years on this planet, have I told her what I do for a living.
Rowan only knows she is NEVER TO TOUCH MY COMPUTER. That’s, like, the number one rule in my house. DO NOT GO NEAR MY COMPUTER. DON’T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT! So I was shocked when I learned Rowan, somehow, knows I am a writer.
This is what happened: I was being interviewed by a reporter for What’s Up magazine about my upcoming children’s book, co-written with Erica Ehm, called The Mischievous Mom Goes to the Art Gallery. The reporter asked what my daughter’s favorite book is.
Since Rowan was sitting near me, I called out to her, “What’s your favorite book?” I thought her answer would be, Love You Forever, or, The Giving Tree. Nope.
“Toddlers Gone Wild,” my daughter answered, not missing a beat. “You know, the one you wrote is my favorite book.”
I burst out in laughter. My daughter definitely cannot read “Toddlers Gone Wild!” a book for adults. She is just learning to read sentences with more than three words. But, more importantly, how the heck did she know that I wrote books? How did she know the title? Who told her? Not me.
Rowan knows what her father does for a living. When I ask her what Daddy does, she answers, “He’s a lawyer,” reciting the answer as she does when I ask, “What’s your address?” I highly doubt she knows WHAT a lawyer does. Quite frankly, I’m not even sure what a securities lawyer does.
I suppose I should be glad I have a job that can be easily explained: I come up with lots and lots of sentences and a book is made. If you’re a doctor that also can be easily explained: You help sick people get better. If you’re in IT, you can say you fix computers. If you’re pilot, you fly planes. If you’re an actress, you are on television or in movies.
But what if you have a job that isn’t easily describable? I asked one of my friends, an editor, if her eldest daughter, age five, knows what she does for a living.
“It’s so funny you ask. Just the other day she asked me what I did. I told her I was an editor and my daughter said, ‘So you write books?’ So I explained, ‘Not really, but I help people with what they write.’ Then she said, ‘So you write books?’”
I told my friend she could say to her five-year-old that she fixes people’s spelling mistakes. Of course, being an editor entails so much more, but for a five-year-old, I think that’s a pretty good start of explaining things.
One of the reasons, I think, I’ve never told Rowan what I do is that writing books is not only hard, but emotionally draining, frustrating, and writers, generally speaking, are very insecure and self-loathing. Don’t get me wrong. I really love the idea that I’m a writer (It’s what I’ve always wanted to be) but it’s not an easy business. Then again, what job is?
But, I have to admit that, through my laughter, after my daughter answered her favorite book was one that I had written, I’ve never felt more proud of what I do. Still, who the heck told her? Fess up!
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