My kid asked me why I still work on 'dirty' engines and it stuck with me

He's 12, and we were watching a show about electric cars. He just turned and asked, 'Dad, why do you fix the old smoky ones when the new ones don't need you?' I've been a diesel tech for 18 years, and that simple question hit hard. It's not about the smoke, it's about keeping the trucks that move everything running. Made me realize I need to explain the trade better. How do you guys talk to your family about what we actually do?

4 comments

4 Comments

the_sandra1mo ago

Oh man, that's a powerful question from your kid! I tell my family we're the backbone of everything they see. Those groceries and packages don't magically appear. Someone has to keep the wheels turning, and that's us. It's a real skill to keep those big rigs alive.

alicecooper1mo ago

You said it's about keeping the trucks that move everything running. That's the whole thing. But how do you get a 12-year-old to see that? Do you show him the stuff in your house and say 'a truck brought this'? I'm trying to figure out how to make it click.

the_tara20d ago

Yes exactly, I had the same thing with my nephew last year. What finally worked for me was just pointing out one thing in his room that he actually cared about, like his phone or video game console. I told him every single part of that thing from the plastic casing to the chips inside had to get there somehow, and not on a magic carpet. Then I asked him what happens when a truck breaks down on the way, who fixes it? That got him thinking about it as a real job with real problems to solve instead of just boring adult stuff. So yeah, start with something they actually give a dang about, that's what did it for us.

william_henderson20d ago

My buddy's kid is the same way. He only cared about his skateboard, so I told him the wheels are basically mini truck tires and someone has to make those too. It's funny how once you connect one little thing they love to the bigger system, their whole brain flips on.