Professional Childhood

I've always understood why office supplies have a 'anything can be done' shine to me. It started when I was about 5 years old, maybe younger but I do remember this in particular- My father would take me to his office on the military base in London, Ontario from time to time. In his office there wasn't much, a desk, a filing drawer, and a white board/push pin board. Even his desk seemed very minimalist with only a few papers- It was the desk drawers that the goods were held. I guess being in the military, he was entitled to whatever office supplies that he wanted and man did he ever have a variety.
He would let me sit at his desk coloring, scribbling, creating whatever it was my five-year-old brain could cook up. At the time I felt big, productive and I'm pretty sure I was thinking 'if this is what being a grown up is like than okie dokie'. Ha! 

Since then, I can go into a supply dept and have that same delusional feeling. It's a weird minimalist yet strangely creative out-of-place feeling that comes whenever I find a large stock of supplies. I'm for sure not as excited about being 'older' and working. If I could go back to that simpler time when all the writing on the board didn't make any sense but seemed like a lot of fun.

Maybe all this was because of the fact that I saw my father as a mystery, he is often very quiet therefore I didn't and still don't know much about the man but to be allowed to enter his world, see him interact with his other peers and doodle with his many pens and markers on an array of colourful paper, was always so satisfying and allowed me to feel like I was bonding with him.