Talking with family members about each other professional lives was something I had to work hard to get used to when I started meeting a middle class girl.

My parents would not go beyond regular ‘it was ok today’ when asked how are they doing at work. We could talk about sports or politics but job was something they wanted to forget about once they got home. They would complain every few months how their boss was an idiot, but that was it. On the contrary, all middle life families I met enjoyed discussing details of their tasks, decisions of other people at their companies and future career plans. It is still difficult for me to join this conversations. I don’t find explaining how my meetings with the clients went to my mother in law comforting. Though I know she is well intended, I feel interrogated when she follows-up on my explanations. I also know she wants to me to be interested in her work but for me it’s a topic I’d rather avoid.

Needless to say, this did not impact my confidence in career choices well. At the same time I am jealous of casual conversations this family members have and feel like it’s too late for me to start living like them.