Sharing Lessons Learned Along the Way
I watched the movie, “Up,” with my five-year old son tonight. If you have not seen it, watch it. It’s not bad. Not sure what’s up with the serious themes in Disney movies. Aging, Dying, Assault, Court Hearings, etc. Yep, it’s all in Up. Don’t’ mean to cast judgment. It’s a very well-done, inspiring movie.
Still, with the heavy theme of the story’s hero in front of a courtroom, facing assault charges, I felt compelled to speak up to my son. “See Ellis, that’s what Dad does. I help people who have problems, like that old man who has been charged with a crime.”
Silence. I wonder if he took note? Understood? I suspect he did and it will come back to me at some curious moment when he says something like “dad, are you going help them?” when he sees a police car with someone pulled over.
My wife is a doctor and my son clearly identifies with this profession. He knows what mom does. But Dad? When driving by my office in the small mountain town we live in, he made the comment – “Oh, Dad, there’s your office, where you go to pretend to work.”
What?
Is being a lawyer in his mind about “pretending” to work, while being a doctor or a coach is really working? I’d like my son to know that I help people. That being a lawyer, especially a small town lawyer, is about nothing, if it’s not about helping people.
-DAS