When They Grow Up

We had some friends over for dinner the other night, and I made mental notes on their amazing daughter so I could say we "knew her when" when she wins an Oscar or a Grammy or something. Even at three, she is so artsy and dramatic. She had to get on an elevated surface (the stairs or Kate's bed) whenever singing a song. She had a few costume changes over the course of the evening, and had to be called by the name of the princess she was dressed as each time. It was very Method, we said.

I just love hypothesizing about kids' future careers based on their current personalities. In most cases, it's just a joke, based on phases of development. Based on common toddler/preschooler behavior, one would project them to grow up to be a psychopath or schizophrenic, but that is clearly overgeneralizing. (We hope. I actually said to Matt once, "I shouldn't worry. All 3-year olds are sociopaths, right?")

But it really is fun to look at children's early proclivities and speculate what they might become if those traits "stick." Here are a few possibilities we imagine for our kids. . .

Kate

Teacher. For a while, this is what Kate would say she wanted to be, if you asked her. Once, she even got so specific as to say professor of Old Testament, but I think Matt was leading her in that case. In her experience with preschool, she's learned that the teacher gets to be in charge, and she seems to like that. Her aunt (a teacher) got her a school playset for Christmas, and she has a lot of fun with it, making Claire, her dolls, and Matt and me her students. She loves to make us identify states on the map, numbers on the calendar, etc., and make up names for her attendance sheet. Her invented names all sound Scandinavian: Alla, Inga, Atta, Insa. . .

Project Manager. While we enjoy doing crafty things together, at my initiation, Kate is often more of a project manager when it comes to coloring, letter-workbooks, and whatnot. "Color that blue. Color that red," she'll instruct, as we're coloring "together." Actually, she's taken more of a hands-on approach lately, but still loves to instruct others at least as much as she likes to do things herself. Bossy girl. The pediatrician actually told us, "She's a leader," when we (okay, I) expressed concern about her extremely strong-willed personality. I wouldn't be thrilled to see my child go into the military, but I have to admit, Kate would be a bad-ass G.I. Jane.

FOX News Anchor. (If you're a fan of this channel, substitute whatever station you distrust). Matt often teases Kate that she will be a great FOX News anchor because she thinks she can say things and they automatically become reality. No, I didn't wet the bed; I spilled water on myself. No, I don't know why my sister is crying. And my personal favorite, when Kate wants candy after dinner: "I DON'T have to eat my dinner all." She says this with a very convincing Jedi-mind-trick face. (I miss her "dinner all" phrase, now that her grammar and syntax are improving!)

Pastor. Oh, Kate. This is one of the few professions I would dread my children being (not that I wouldn't be proud, but I've seen the toll it can take!). It's such a common joke for P.K.s, and seems so likely, given Kate's fondness for being at church 24/7 and service-oriented tendencies we've tried to instill. Kate takes such an interest in Matt's work. Consider the following photos:

Kate at 2, wearing a "mini-stole" intended for hospital visits, at our local Cokesbury store.

And more recently, leading worship with the decorative music stand and antique 1920-something Cokesbury Hymnal in our dining room. Yes, that's a Slinky on her arm.

She made Matt and I stand in front of her and sing. All I can say is, the life of a Music Minister is probably much easier than the life of a Senior Pastor.

Claire

Pianist. While I was still pregnant with Claire, I joked she would be a concert pianist, since her in utero movements were more like light skitterings across my tummy, as opposed to Kate's big gymnast stretches that pushed out both sides of my belly. Since then, the best argument I can make for this career path is to point out that Claire shows more aptitude for fine motor skills like threading a stitching card toy, whereas Kate was such a gross motor skills toddler, climbing things twice her size from the time she was walking.

Butcher. What the heck? Well, Claire loves to hang out in the fridge, so if I'm going to make these silly speculations about a 16-month old, I've got to point out how much Claire would love a meat locker. Any time I open the fridge, she makes a beeline for it and sits down in it. And it's been going on a while. . .

11 months

15 months

Engineer. This is actually the one I'm most insistent on for little Claire. I know all kids of this generation have an aptitude for technology, but I've always said Claire is very mechanical. She's into how things work, investigating machinery and whatnot. Phones, door hinges, sound mixers, iPods, clock radios, cameras, nightlights, remote controls, keys and doorknobs, landscaping equipment, and more.

All over Popi's John Deere lawn mower at 10 months (wearing overalls, no less).

She loves the sound controls at The Road. Usually turning knobs, of course she acted nonchalant when I  wanted to take a picture. 

So those are my best hypotheses as to my daughters' future careers.
What do you suspect your kids will end up doing as adults?