A fruitful journey

A long long time ago, when I was a tiny little girl, my friend's dad asked me, "So tell me beta, what does your father do?"

Okay, so that was the first time anyone had asked me that question. Phrased like that. And I took it literally. I didn't know I was being asked about my dad's occupation, not his hobby. So I tried to think of whatever I had seen my dad literally do on a day-to-day basis, to compose my response.

And this is what came out.

"Ummm... My father goes to the bank... and he digs up soil... puts seeds in the soil... waters the plants... and plucks the fruits."

I was very proud of myself. It was a very tough question, needed a lot of thinking, and I had managed to capture all the key points of what I had seen my dad generally do in life.

It was only when my friend's mom told my mom that they had thought my dad was a gardener at a bank, that my mistake came to light. Everyone had a good laugh, I sulked for a while, learnt what "What does your father do?" truly meant, and rehearsed the correct answer "My father works in a bank. My father works in a bank. My father works in a bank." a bazillion times.

I remembered this incident yesterday and it just suddenly struck me that my statement from many years ago has now turned true. Except that he doesn't go to the bank anymore, now that he's retired.

But now I can answer with confidence and pride if asked "What does your father do?"

"My father digs up soil... puts seeds in the soil... waters the plants... and plucks the fruits."

And my answer this time, would be absolutely correct.