I have been thinking about work a lot lately. I have been thinking about how I was raised and how my father taught me about the importance of work. I have been thinking about how I will teach my boys to work. Growing up, I was not always the first to jump in when there was a job to do. Joe, on the other hand, seemed to even like work. This made for some difficult comparisons growing up. My dad was always nervous that I might turn out to be a couch potato that couldn't hold down a job. As I seek to work with my boys, it appears that I have a Joe and an Andy. (We'll see what Matty ends up like.)Yesterday I shoveled the driveway (twice). It seems as if I am 12 years old again. I thought of my dad as I worked to make sure the walls on each side of the driveway were uniform. Caleb was out with me, dying to get his hands on the shovel and give it a go. Ben was in hanging out inside in his PJ's.
I think one thing that I want to avoid with my boys, is the fact that I always felt a little tinge of "If you would only be more like your brother," around the issue of work. We'll see how that all turns out. It is difficult because the two boys need different kinds of teaching in this area.
3 comments:
I specifically remember a snowy night in Cleveland when I got sent back outside somewhere between 3 and 5 times to "go all the way to the grass" on both sides of the drive. And I'm now a stickler for "uniform walls" as well!
apparently im "an andy" when it comes to snow removal... so its a good thing my father-in-law hooked up a (lightly used) snowblower, otherwise id still be at home waiting for the sun to melt down the driveway so i could get out
I guess I lucked out from that comparison thing. Did I shovel? I don't even remember.
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