Ever since Little Girl was little, she had wondered what she would be when she grew up.  Would she be a teacher of other little girls and boys?  Would she work for a travel company and wear a uniform and a scarf around her neck?  Would she be an architect and design fancy houses?

“Hmm”, she thought.  “I really don’t know.”  

But Little Girl did know that a lot of Grown Ups worked in offices and wore smart-looking clothes.  They looked very sensible and important as they went to and from their offices.

“I think I would like to wear smart-looking clothes and walk importantly to an office”, thought Little Girl to herself.  So that’s what she did, for quite a long while.  Until one day, it didn’t feel quite right anymore.  And even the smart clothes started to feel uncomfortable.

“Hmm”, thought Little Girl.  “What else could I do that is impressive and important?” 

Little Girl looked at the actors on the television.  They seemed impressive.  

“I like acting”, she thought to herself.  “I wonder if I could do that for a job and be on TV?” So that’s what she did, just for a little bit, and just in the background.  But as she sat there behind the scenes, with all the other actors who were also giving it a go, she realised that they were a bit of a strange lot really.  Little Girl knew that, although she too could sometimes be a bit strange, she didn’t really want to spend hour after hour, sitting behind the scenes with other rather strange people.  It didn’t feel quite right.  And it didn’t end up paying grown-up amounts of money anyway.

“Hmm”, thought Little Girl.  I would like a real job that pays a good amount of grown-up money, like the money that I got when I worked in an office and wore smart clothes.

So back to the office she went.  It was a different office and it was different work.  She didn’t even have to wear uncomfortably smart clothes.  But she did get to have a special swipe card which had her photo on it, and a fancy job title.  The other Grown Ups in the office were not only very kind but also extremely clever.  And they helped sick people.  Little Girl admired these clever people and felt proud to work for them and carry her important-looking swipe card.  It made her feel quite grown-up and rather important herself.  Although she quietly wished that she could meet those poor sick people and have a chat with them just to try and cheer them up, she knew that she was helping them by doing her office work.  But the work got busier and busier.  Little Girl began to feel very, very tired and even a bit worried and upset.  And then one day, it just didn’t feel right at all anymore.

“Hmm”, thought Little Girl.  Maybe if I worked in an office closer to home, I wouldn’t feel quite so tired and upset.  So she found a place to work that was not too far away from her house.  Again it was a place where other clever Grown Ups helped sick people, but this time Little Girl got to talk to the sick people a little bit.  That was the part she liked.  The talking to the sick people part.  Little Girl liked chatting to them and making them laugh every now and then.  That part felt good.  But the other part, the office part, that didn’t feel good, not at all. Nor did the uncomfortably smart office clothes.  Little Girl began to feel very confused.  

“I’m confused”, she said to herself, and anyone else who would listen.  “I have tried very hard to find out what I should be when I grow up but nothing seems quite right.”

“Why don’t you speak to this man?” replied a friend one day, as she handed Little Girl a card.  “His name is Mr Noble because he has the noble job of helping people just like you to find out what they should be when they grow up.”

So Little Girl went to visit Mr Noble, who asked her many, many questions about herself.  He wrote things down and she wrote things down. Then he talked for a long time about how Little Girl was designed and what grown-up jobs would suit her best.  They were not the jobs that Little Girl had expected.  Some of them didn’t even sound particularly grown-up.

“Not office jobs?” exclaimed Little Girl.  “But that’s mostly what I know, and I’m actually pretty good at them.

“Why yes, that might be true”, replied Mr Noble.  “But I don’t think they will ever be quite right for you.”

“Hmm”, thought Little Girl.  “Curious and curiouser.  That’s what I’ve been thinking, for quite a while now.”

So Little Girl decided to try something that was rather different.  She knew a man who had a very big heart.  He loved people and wanted to care for them.  He also loved to make coffee.  In fact, he had a shop where he did both these things.

“Could I come and work for you in your shop?” asked Little Girl to Mr Big Heart.

“Well, let’s see.” replied Mr Big Heart.  “What skills do you have?”  

“I can do office work”, Little Girl replied, suddenly feeling quite silly.  

“Hmm, we’ve not much need for that here, I’m afraid.  We are all about making great coffee and yummy treats, and being kind to people.  But come on in anyway.  How about you give it a go?”

So she did.  And she loved it!   Most of the time anyway.  Sometimes she felt tired, and it was not always easy.  But Little Girl got to make people happy by serving them coffee and treats.  She met lots of older people and listened to their stories.  She met lots of younger people and encouraged them when she could.  Mummies with babies, Daddies with kids.  Actors and artists, musicians and writers.  Potters and knitters.  Funny people and lonely people.  All sorts of people.  It was a colourful place, and she finally felt she was where she belonged.  She was allowed to wear clothes that were comfortable and fun.  She could even put flowers in her hair and would sometimes do a little skip when she walked.

“I really like this job”, she said happily.  “It feels so right.”

But then as time went by, Little Girl began to wonder about a few things.

“Maybe I should be doing something that is a bit more important or impressive”, she thought to herself.  “Perhaps by now I should be in charge of people.  Perhaps I should be making a lot more money.  Perhaps other people don’t think my job is actually a grown-up one.  After all, real Grown Ups don’t wear flowers in their hair or skip when they walk.  ”

So, feeling rather sad, she said goodbye to Mr Big Heart and to the other lovely workers at the great coffee and yummy treats shop and went in search of something more serious and impressive.

And ended up back in an office.  Which was indeed very grown-up and sensible.  But it just didn’t feel quite right (as Mr Noble had predicted).

“What about working outside?”  thought Little Girl.  “I could be a gardener.  I do love plants.  I could drive a gardening truck and wear big work boots.  Work boots look serious and only Grown Ups are allowed to drive trucks.”

So Little Girl gave gardening a go.  She met some very nice people and it was good to be outside and around plants.  But after only a wee while, Little Girl knew it just wasn’t right.

Little Girl sighed a very big sigh.  And then had a long, hard think.

“What does it really mean to have a grown-up job?”  she asked herself.  “Does it matter if you’re not the boss, or earning the most money?  Does it matter if you don’t have the most impressive job title or a company car?  Does it matter if other people aren’t particularly impressed when you say what you do?”

And then Little Girl thought again about what Mr Noble had taught her – about how her Designer delighted in how He had made her, how He had given her specific strengths (which they both agreed was not maths) and how working within those strengths could bring joy and fulfilment, not just to herself but to others.

“Hmm”, thought Little Girl to herself.  “I think I know what I need to do.”

And so Little Girl went and paid Mr Big Heart a visit.  

“Could I come and work for you again in your shop?” asked Little Girl to Mr Big Heart.

“Well, let’s see.” replied Mr Big Heart, with a twinkle in his eye.  “What skills do you have?”  

“Oh, this and that”, she said happily as she did a little skip.