69. Business Kid

This Okay caller tells us about a very memorable Halloween costume that her child wore.

Transcripts may not appear in their final version and are subject to change.

INTRO MUSIC

I’m Nora McInerny, and it’s going to be okay.

VOICEMAIL BEEP

Okay Caller: Hi Nora, it’s Maya, this all happened back in 2010. My father, who was very close to my kids, died that August of an aggressive GBM and I was traveling a lot for work then. Like a lot, my belief is that this kid worked to turn those stresses into something he could be in control of.

Children are observant and absorbent. They’re constantly noticing things. The adults around them, what they’re doing, HOW they’re doing. And Maya’s son is no different. He’s just lost his grandpa. His mother has just lost her dad.

So when we started talking about Halloween costumes that year, he said, I already know what I’m gonna be and you won’t even have to go to the store for it because I know you’re busy. Insert mom guilt here. He was gonna be a businessman. He used the jacket and clip on tie. We bought him from my dad’s funeral, some adult sunglasses my dad had given him.

Maya sent a photo in the email, and it doesn’t disappoint. Because this kid really means business. When it’s time to head out for trick-or-treating, he has it all: the jacket. The tie, the sunglasses…

Okay Caller: And the old huge briefcase my husband was given when he graduated from college. We went door to door that Halloween while he latched. And unlatched the briefcase at every door, put in his piece of candy, re latched it back up every door, the same conversation. Oh, hello, and what are you? This year I’m a businessman like my mom.

I love this for a lot of reasons. And I love it mostly because Maya’s first instinct was to feel guilty about his costume, that she didn’t, you know, hand-make it. But her son was FINE. He was more than fine! he was the hit of the neighborhood, I’m sure. If a kid came to MY house with a briefcase? I’d give them the entire bowl of candy, turn off the light and shut down shop. Her son wasn’t bummed out that he didn’t get whatever costume was popular  at the time, he was happy to be a businessman…like his mom.

Okay Caller: This was 13 years ago and he’s still the same. He doesn’t turn lemons into lemonade. He doesn’t like lemonade. Instead, he just imagines it’s orange juice. Hope you have a great day. Take care.

 We’re all going to have a great day today. Or an OKAY day at least. Because we’re not going to make lemonade. We’re going to just use our imaginations to create some orange juice. We’re not going to deny our realities, but we’re going to take what’s around us and do what we can with it. We don’t need anything new or shiny, we don’t need to spend hours reinventing ourselves. We can grab a crusty old briefcase, put on a clip-on tie, and go out and get some Candy.

OUTRO MUSIC

This is it’s going to be okay, and we love hearing your okay things. You can send us a voice memo like Maya did. Please don’t record in your airpods, though!!!! You can email it to us, or write out an email. Email is linked in our show notes. You can call us! 612.568.4441.

CREDITS