12 September 2013

home economics

he had his eye on the prize. and the prize came with a hefty price tag so he began to plot. how o, how could he afford to satisfy his hankering? 

we live on a large wooded lot-over an acre of trees-so when he asked if he could rake our leaves, i knew this endeavor would be worth the 20 dollars he wished to earn. 

and it was so worth the 20 dollars. to see him raking leaves in a summer downpour. to hear him say, "as soon as i rake a pile, more leaves drift down. it's maddening." and to watch him rig the trash bins and snow shovels, well. yeah, i was happy to fork over the dough. "it was a lot harder than i thought it would be." isn't it always?

as i watched him work for two days, in the heat, in the rain and ultimately in the cool of the early morning, i recognized in him a drive to work hard to earn a fair wage. it made me glad that for as long as the boys have been able to walk, they have been expected to pitch in around the house, ours or others. 

"many hands make light work" is one of our family adages{another is: "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem}. and hard work is no stranger to these boys whose hands bear blisters and brows scars from roughing it up a little. 

i would be lying if i said they required little coaxing. and money is a very, very good motivator as it seems that capitalism is alive and well in our little nook of the woods. each boy has his wish list of tomfoolery to spend his nickels and dimes on. 

and for this boy of 10, well, he has his eye on some new arrows for his bow. perfect. just perfect.


enjoying a freshly raked yard-for now,
xo gf