MWU Bring Your Children to Work Day...Oh No!

Today, August 13th, was the annual "Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day" on the Downers Grove campus. I brought my nine-year old son Damon and seven-year old daughter Damia with me to work for a fun-filled day of events sponsored by the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM).

Each year, events on this day are sponsored by one of the three colleges within Midwestern University. Last year's event was sponsored by the Chicago College of Pharmacy (CCP).

The day started with breakfast and welcome remarks from the univeristy president, Dr. Kathleen H. Goeppinger. She welcomed all the "special guests" who took the day to one, learn about the many things that the students are learning by attending Midwestern Universiy and two, following their guardians for the last half of the day to see what it is we do from "nine to five".

Luckily, my children were grouped together in Group B and we had a lab experiment where each of the children (and parents, too) made hand sanitizer gel. Each child poured, measured, and added special scents and glitter for the magical effect. Safety came first, each child performed this lab with safety goggles. It was pretty fun and stressful at the same time. Imagine a group of 7-10 year-olds handling small bottles of motions and potions. Whew!

And finally, the third-year CCOM students ventured back onto campus to help demonstration on splinting. After the quick demo, children all around me were splinting themselves, their parents, and one another. It was cool!

And as the special activities came to an end, the sons & daughters all crossed their fingers for raffled prizes, which included Target gift cards and passes to Six Flags of Great America.

The rest of the day is a bit of a blur...kids back in my office, our office suite had a total of five kids there the last hours of the day. I realized how much more I appreciate my children, when they are not affecting my ability to prepare for the upcoming graduation and white coat ceremonies that I am planning.

It was fun and the kids each year are learning more about the place "Mommy calls work.