On the way to school, Beth asked me one of her famous random questions.

It arose from my remark that I had been really miserable on my first day back at work 7 years ago after taking a year off to look after her. She said she probably was too. :-)

She then asked: "Did you have to dress like Zhen Ying?"

Xu Zhen Ying is the name of the female lead in the K-drama Hotelier, which Beth and I love (except she hates the ending and would rewrite it if she could!). In the drama, XZY is a dedicated hotel assistant manager who constantly puts work first, even ahead of relationships. Her uniform is black jacket, black skirt and white blouse.

So I said yes, in my first three years working with the Legal Aid Bureau, I did have to dress in black and white nearly every day. I talked about court appearances, the difference in dress code between "in chambers" and "open court", how nervous I was when I had to stand up in the courtroom and say "May it please Your Honour, my name is Serena Low..." and the sort of clients I worked with.

It wasn't a long conversation, but it was nice having my 8 yo to share such intimate details with, and to remember a time past when my vocab and social circle wasn't all about parenting, school work and fellow moms. A time when I actually had A Life Of My Own.