by Ronald Adams

Created on: May 09, 2008

"Dad, I have a question."

Whenever I hear that, it's usually followed by a question about bugs or bodily functions. Sometimes, it's followed by a family history question, or a question about how old the family dog is. However, as the kids get older, what I like to refer to as a BIG question will occasionally follow that sentence.

At dinner one night, my son hit me with a BIG question. As I mentioned, there are always questions, especially with 10 year olds, but this was a BIG question. I work as a physical therapist in a nursing home, and spend a lot of time helping people who, because of physical and mental impairments, can't help themselves. It can be very trying, very physical, and at the end of the day exhausting. I don't usually see people at their best, but it falls upon me to be as cheerful as possible, even when I don't really feel particularly cheerful. This was one of those days. So it took me a minute to give him something positive to hang on to.

"My favorite part is making people smile, maybe even get them to laugh a little."

"But Dad," he said, "I thought you were a therapist, not a clown. What do you do, wear a funny nose, and fall down?"

My daughter, also 10, almost choked on her ginger ale as she giggled. "Dad, what do you do?"

"I poke fun at myself, sometimes tell jokes, pretend to do goofy things, and mostly take an interest in who my people are and what their lives are like. If they smile, or if they laugh at me or even with me, they don't worry so much about how they feel. For a short time, they feel better."

They fell silent at the table, between bites of chicken nuggets and french fries. They seemed to be taking it in, actually thinking about my description. My son spoke first.

"You still do real therapy too, right?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, I work very hard. My patients count on me to help them to walk and move better, and to help them get back home. But sometimes, there's a place for fun. The trick is always knowing when and where."

"Kinda like in school. There's always work to do, but then we get to have Fun Fridays sometimes."

"Just like that." I was pretty sure he grasped the idea. I wanted the two of them to know that even work can be fun if you approach it right, and that your approach determines how much fun you can have. It was a good reminder for me, too.

He seemed satisfied, my daughter nodded, and my wife smiled. One BIG question down, a lifetime more to go.

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