When I grow up...

Madison’s long-range career plans continue to evolve. This is a dialogue that began during our Aruba trip, when she first expressed an interest in a job making casino chips, then stuffed animals and, by the end of the vacation, Play-Doh. Since we’ve returned home, what Madison wants to do when she grows up has been a frequent topic of conversation around here, particularly when I’m tucking her into bed and she asks if we can spend a few minutes “talking about our day,” which is clearly a delaying tactic, but one I can rarely resist.

We have had extended and evolved conversations about factories, how many distinct items one factory could produce, what kind of machinery she would need, how she might be able to learn to make the various items currently on her list, and whether or not it would be necessary to employ other people on her assembly line. Most of my responses are highly uninformed, but all fall under the broad heading of “you can do anything,” which seems a good place to be.

In addition to her manufacturing aspirations, Madison talks about wanting to be a teacher, and also an author, but she very specifically plans to produce the books she writes in her own factory, along with Play-Doh, markers, erasers and Post-It Notes. Her expanding inventory isn’t entirely random, basically anything that is capturing her attention at the moment soon becomes something she wants to make, mainly because that means she wouldn’t ever have to go to a store to buy it.

We maintain a running inventory, in a notebook she keeps in her room, and here are the things Madison is currently planning to make in her factory when she grows up (I confirmed this with her immediately prior to posting):

All Crayola products

All different “types and kinds of stuffed animals”

Sharpie markers

Play-Doh

Pipe cleaners

Ribbon, tape, and glue sticks

Highlighters, colored markers, “sparkly” markers

Beads

Kids’ clay

Pens and pencils (all colors)

All kinds of hair bands and clips

All different colors and sizes of foamy paper, especially the kind with peel-off adhesive on the back that can be cut into stickers

Paint chips (paint store samples)

Stickers

All different kinds of erasers

To be continued…