Defending myself

A few weeks ago, I walked into preschool to pick up Elizabeth, and one of the teachers started laughing and said, "Oh mama, do I have a story to tell you." My heart sank. There are lots of embarrassing things Elizabeth could have told her teachers, the question was which one.

Here's the transcript.

Classmate: Why do I have to come to school every day? I want to stay home.
Teacher: You come here because your mom and dad go to work. They have jobs and earn money for your family.
Elizabeth: Not my mom. She doesn't have a job.
Teacher: Even if she doesn't work outside the house, it's a big job taking care of you and your brother and sisters. She keeps the house clean and does the laundry and cooks dinner. There's lots of work at home.
Elizabeth: No. She makes me and my brother and sisters do all the work. She doesn't do anything.
Teacher: Well what does she do all day?
Elizabeth: She plays on the computer.

At this point, I started sputtering. "But I do have a job! I really do. I'm a writer, so it looks like I'm playing on the computer but I'm actually working. And the kids do chores in the house, but I still do most of the cooking and cleaning."

I was mortified.

The teacher, however, just laughed, and said that they know not to believe everything the kids tell them.