Interesting to see so many confused /parents/spouses/etc in this thread. Even though what we work on is highly abstract, my parents have a reasonable non technical interpretation. I would think its the norm that the people you closely care about, or care about you, know roughly what you do, if you have explained it well enough to them in a compelling way. I guess delivering meaningless value for some soulless corporate entity doesn't really spark joy, or is memorable at all.