THE WORK OF A JOB

(My dear son Mr13 is the sole member of the family who is not particularly into music or art. He likes creative stuff, sure, but he gets more into playing Minecraft and showing off his newly-gained paintball welt, which is just fine. Sometimes, out of nowhere, he comes up with some interesting insights.)

Mr13: Mom, have you ever done the work of a job but you didn't have the job?

Me: Well, hmm...what do you mean?

Mr13: Like you do things that help other people and it's hard work but you don't actually go to a job and get a bunch of money?

Me: Ha, I'm a parent!

Mr13: Ha ha! No, I mean like with your photos. You take photos of bands, but those bands didn't hire you to take photos of them, right?

Me: Right.

Mr13: Right. But you take the photos and they get published and the bands get all this cool free publicity, which helps them out a lot.

Me: (smiling) Yes.

Mr13: That's pretty nice, I think.

Me: Thank you, sweetie. I love what I do, even though it doesn't pay much.

Mr13: I know! You can tell.

MissNine: (interjecting) My hands are tight. I'm an artiste.

(Mr13 at the Flaming Lips, Puyallup Fair, 9/21/11)