Will Having Kids Really Change Anything?

That almost sounds like a dumb question, huh?  Does having kids change anything?  Duh!!  Another mouth to feed.  Diapers.  Sleepless nights.  Fevers.  Bumps and bruises and scratches and you name its….

Years ago I worked for Transamerica; you know: the pyramid tower in San Francisco.  But I worked here in SoCal.  They had their corporate office in Los Angeles, and once my boss and I had to go in and meet a Senior Executive Vice President.  Woo hoo!  We were instructed where to park, which elevator to take, what floor to get off, and to walk down “Walnut Row,” until we get to a secretary’s counter (counter?  not a desk?) and wait to be summoned.

So we get there.  We park.  We get to the elevator.  And this little guy of about 5′ 4″ asks to hold the door.  He gets in and we all look at the ceiling, the numbers, whatever while the elevator takes its time.  I finally look at him and say, “Hey, that’s a pretty nice tie.”  He says, “Thanks, you too.  Um, did you see that?”  And he points at my tie and I see some spit up from burping our daughter before I left.  My boss hadn’t said anything thank you very much.

So I laughed nervously and said, “The joys of parenthood, huh?”  I guess he laughed, but I went on.  “We’re supposed to meet a VIP, and I’ve got baby puke on my tie.”  I remember smiling, and he laughed with me.  The dinger told us we reached our floor so my boss and I got out.  We went to the magic counter, and I asked where a bathroom was.  Five minutes later we were waiting on very, very plush seats in an antechamber to the mucky muck’s office.  My boss had his nervous hands in his lap, and I had a half-damp tie that showed darker where I had washed the vomit off.

We were summoned.  We went in.  And the guy from the elevator smiles ear to ear and says, “So YOU’RE my nine o’clock?”  and shook our hands.  Then he told me to come around to his side of the HUGE desk and look at his family pictures.  He had a couple daughters, both grown up now, and he told me how much he missed those days when he  could hold them in his arms and just love on them, and yes sometimes get spit up on.

Our appointment went famously.  That’s not the whole story.  MY appointment went famously.  The VP asked my boss a couple questions about his family, but he only talked about the trouble his kids were, and how a kid like me would learn, and could we get to the business at hand.  You can guess the rest of  our 1/2 hour was mostly the VP talking with me, sharing stories about his girls growing up and what I had to look forward to.

When we stood up to leave, he told us he enjoyed the meeting and looked forward to hearing how our division was doing for the company.  My boss said, “That’s what we came here to review with you!”

“Mister, do you think I need a middle manager to tell me how you’re doing?  My secretary makes more than you do, and she already has given me the numbers.  I know what you’re doing out there.”  Then he turned to me and said, “Besides, wasn’t this much more important than trying to impress Corporate?”  He reached down and flipped my tie and said, “Remember the little things, Jeff.” 

He shook my hand again, opened his door, and that was that.  Never talked to him again.  And it was a mighty quiet drive back to our office too.

There are parents, and there are parents.  And there are parents with their priorities right.  Be that last one.