Shadowing Day

My oldest daughter, McDaniel, is in the 8th grade.

The school asked that each of the kids go to work with one of their parents for a Shadowing Day.

They had to ask a series of questions of their "shadower"

or would it be "shadowee"?

And they had to write an essay about their experience.

McDaniel was VERY excited about going to work with Monte.

She got all dressed up and couldn't wait to sit at a desk with a phone and a computer and play secretary

(she and Ellie have been doing that for years).

Right away she didn't like how early Monte wanted to leave for work.

So the day started off grumpish.

See the happiness squirting out of her face?

Monte got to work and realized that he was being audited.

That day.

Yep.

Happens every two years and it just so happened to be the day of Shadowing Day.

The sweet old guy that normally handles Monte's office audits retired.

His replacement was humorless and less sweet.

So McDaniel got shut away in a windowless conference room with a computer.

For an hour and a half.

She wrote a 467-word essay about her experience.

And then texted me.

A lot.

After the audit, it was lunchtime.

And as it turns out, a Cabela's just opened right by Monte's office.

Being a lover of all things Duck Dynasty and camo, 

McDaniel REALLY wanted to go check it out.

Here are the pictures I was sent:

That is a look of "Oh my goodness, this is so
heavy!" not a look of "Look! It's Bambi--
let's shoot it!"

She REALLY wants this. Apparently, a camo 4-wheeler would be
all the rage in our suburb--no where near a woods.

Monte thought this was hilarious. 

A long time ago Monte told me that farts would always be funny to him.

I will give you some time to let that sink in.

I am not sure why this came up but probably a response to my being appalled at just how bathroom his humor can be.

So the fact that he found this t-shirt funny is no surprise to me.

The fact he took a picture of it and sent it to me is a bit baffling but nothing to keep me up at night.

The fact that I came home from tap class last night to see that he had posted it to his Facebook page completely floors me.

But I am choosing to still be grateful that he didn't purchase the shirt and isn't walking around town living his life wearing it for all to see.

I am a glass-half-full kinda girl like that.

Back to Shadowing Day…

Lunch helped McDaniel forget the slow morning but did not prepare her for the even s-l-o-w-e-r afternoon.

Because what Monte didn't get done in the morning due to the audit,

he HAD to get done in the afternoon.

Which spelled more alone time for McDaniel in a windowless room.

So she FaceTimed me.

A lot.

But I had stuff I wanted to get done too,

and quite frankly, the iPhone puts like, 10 years on my face.

And it was depressing.
And I just couldn't stand to look at me anymore.

So when Ellie got home from school,

I let them FaceTime.

But even Ellie got bored after awhile.

McDaniel's take away from Shadowing Day?

"People who are in charge, 
sit a lot and tell a lot of people what to do."

"And it is exhausting."

Monte explained that is why he sometimes likes peace and quiet when he gets home after a long day.

Before

After.
I will explain the 4-foot fish pillow later.