Uncle Mike Rocks Career Day

Sophie announced recently that she was chosen as Student of The Week. This entitles the child to bring to school a collection of photos and favorite things to share with the class. A family member is also invited to come to the class to talk about his or her job. This is where Sophie was having the problem. She didn't mean to hurt our feelings, but she didn't think it would be any fun if I came, as I'm "JUST" a mom who works at her school sometimes and her dad "JUST" sits in his office all day on the computer. "What's so great about that?" I totally understood where she was coming from. Our neighborhood has its share of Navy Fighter Pilots, and their children are Sophie's classmates. We have firefighter dads and policeman dads, and a dad who's a principal and one who's a doctor. How could we possibly measure up? She asked for Uncle Mike, instead. Smart girl, she'll be the most popular kid in school as a result. Let me explain... "Uncle Mike" is Kevin's brother and he's very charasmatic. Social. People do tend to gravitate toward him and this includes his nieces. He's also the bass guitarist for a metal band. One that is actually quite popular in our neck of the woods. Their songs are on the radio pretty regularly and the kids go bananas when we turn on the local news and there is Uncle Mike: Tattoos, Mohawk, pierced eyebrow and a goatee braided down to his chest. It's part of the job and something Kevin and I don't really notice at this point...the girls think their Uncle Mike is the coolest thing since the North Pole, and every aspect of his personal style is something to worship.

Imagine, if you will, the number of rungs Sophie ascended on the social ladder (such as it is at nine years old) by arranging for Uncle Mike to give a presentation to her class....he even brought his music awards! He blew doors off the ex-fighter pilot speaker, the dairy guy, the real estate sales lady... even the cop and the firefighter, and considering one carries a firearm and the other carries a fire hose, that's saying a whole lot. All the kids know a cop or a fireman. Not a single one of them know a rock star. Sophie was just as awed by the whole thing as the other kids, so it wasn't like she was bragging (okay, she was probably bragging a little but only because she thinks he's soooo cool!)


The only sticky part was when a kid asked if Mike's band could be found on the internet. Mike looked, for just a millisecond, like it was a trick question. He didn't quite nod, but changed the subject. This piqued my interest so I hit YouTube and searched for 'six ounce gloves'. You'll have to search for yourself, but I know now why Mike changed the subject....I suspect the shot glasses in some of the photos were not filled with iced-tea. Let me just say, though, that Sophie's guest kicked the azzes of every other student in class. Not that it was a competition. Just sayin. Thanks Uncle Mike, Aunt Manda and Baby Phoenix for making the trip. We were thrilled to have you!