Yesterday was beautiful compared to the intense heat we’ve had.
It was in the upper 80’s – low 90’s and there was a breeze…..
practically Autumn in comparison!
It was a good day to get some of the garden beaten into submission….
speaking of beating into submission….I forced three of the children to help me…..
I know, I know
in this day and age, modern parents don’t make children do manual labor
they have “people”
cut the grass
clean the house
wash the windows
wash the car
modern children are much too busy
playing a sport
or
spending “quality” time with their friends
they are busy
enriching their minds by playing challenging video games
widening their horizons on Facebook
learning new words through texting
understanding more about the opposite sex through YouTube
brace yourself….I’m not done…..
Good old-fashioned hard work is pointless…..
after all, our parents made us do it
(if they were of a certain generation)
and what did it teach us?
That our kids will have a better childhood than we did and
they will all go to college ( even multiple colleges) so they can get a nice,
high paying job in a nice environment with air conditioning
and no overtime
and two weeks vacation to start
and bonuses that enable them to dress well and have all the
important things they need plus
have enough money to honeymoon in France and then buy a
REALLY big house when they get married (decorated completely top to bottom)
and drive REALLY nice cars
and take REALLY significant vacations
(NOT camping or even in the boring USA)
to islands or Costa Rica with their toddlers so they can give their children a “worldview” of other cultures
from the safety of a 4 star hotel while wearing expensive clothing artfully designed to look like “regular” clothing (holes and all)
and all the while learning from their parents how to be a
REAL and CARING person as they observe them treating “the help” with kindness and politeness
which is MUCH more important to “people like that” than money….
and feeling REALLY good that their children can
ENJOY their lives instead of having to spend
HALF THE DAY Saturday doing manual labor like
mowing the lawn
or washing the car
or weeding flowerbeds
or vacuuming
or cleaning a toilet
which is better left to people who REALLY need a job because in the end we not only want them to REALLY enjoy their life but we also definitely want our children to know we REALLY love them and are very happy to spend a LOT of money on vacations or outings so we can spend “quality” time together… plus helping them to realize that focusing our attention on them and their desires above other commitments is REALLY the most important thing …..
we know they understand we REALLY love them because we make sure they have their own :
TV, iPhone, iPod, iPad, Nook, laptop, bicycle (just for looks mostly), swimming pools, hot tubs, boats to ski and go tubing from, skateboard(s), scooter(s), cars, trucks, 4-wheelers, collections of CD’s and DVD’s, manicures, pedicures, salon hairstyles, highlights, personal trainers, private (fill in the blank) lessons, cute and trendy tattoos, belly button jewelry, piercings, more name brand clothes than we can fit into drawers or closets,
thereby ensuring they will have REALLY good self-esteem….
and last
but certainly not least…..
a REALLY generous allowance
so they can feel “independent” and learn the
value of money…..
which is to give their children a better life
than you gave them…..
The economy is bad right now
Lots of people out of work…..
the hard-working and the not so hard-working alike….
I’ll venture an opinion that the hard-working
have been able to make do better than the not so hard-working…..
maybe because they have more experience with:
(I’m going to use a dirty four letter word here)
…..WORK…..
……..as in hot, sweaty, sore back, sore hands,
sore feet, bone tired,
fall into bed and instantly asleep kind of work
This is just my opinion but I think a good work ethic is a REALLY valuable characteristic……
The kind of characteristic we should be worrying more about instilling into our children if we want them to REALLY have good self-esteem and be truly successful and truly happy……
yesterday, flowerbeds were weeded, hydrangeas were pruned, and unhappy children were forced to do “pointless” work
such is life……..
at least around here……..
Pointless?
Really?
I'm Lorraine. I have a love for home & design and I enjoy sharing that passion with others. I'm so glad you're here to join me.
email: missflibbertigibbet@gmail.com
REALLY true!
good points, all
every saturday early during my childhood Pop would bang on our doors to get up to work.
he was always so worried about us being spoiled little rich kids that he overcompensated a bit, to be honest, but i still wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.
it’s so easy to become lazy!
and i started working pretty much since age 14
i think it is important too
a good work ethic promotes you fast, because it is so RARE!
glad you are doing this for them, too
and many hands make light the work
maybe a nice ice cream sundae bar set up at home after all the work is done as a nice reward?
Fabulous post. Yes, children these days are a little LAZY and everything is handed to them on a silver platter. I am glad to see my kids are not handing everything over to my grands and that they will learn good values of working.
Amazing the difference just one generation can make, isn’t it? I am happy to say that my kids were FORCED to help and mow the lawn, clean their own rooms, help Mom when needed….and, guess what? They are ALL hard working, community oriented “givers”. I am blessed….and I was further blessed to have parents that demanded the same of me.
GREAT POST!!!! xo Diana
How true, how true!
I love the passion in your posts! It’s very inspiring. 🙂
Excellent!!
Mary Alice
Well said! For many years I’ve commented that you can’t find a kid to mow grass or shovel snow. Why should they? Parents give them all the money they need! You certainly hit the nail on the head!
Well, I guess you did a good job with us because my kids mow lawns, babysit, weed gardens, edge yards, powerwash, clean house, cook, do their own laundry, have no cell phones, no iPads, and no cable TV! They are hard little workers but as all teens….need to be pushed from time to time. I just make sure they know they are appreciated, everyone likes to be appreciated for a job well done. I am determined to have children with character. I commend you on making the kids work. Nothing feels better than hard ward when it’s complete and you look at what’s been accomplished.
Preach, Sistah!
Amen!
Cheers my friend! Too many spoiled kids these days. I can assure you, ours are not amongst. I wanted to let you know I received my hydrangeas. I posted it on my facebook page and let you know that:) I even posted a picture. Have a great day Lorraine, and thanks again.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. This world has too many chiefs and not enough indians and thats WHY we are upside down, are generally unhappy and disappointed with life and living on substances. I hope our current economic state will enable people to see how truly lucky we are and how enriched our lives can be when we accomplish things with our own hands, own brains and sometimes doing without every luxury is better in the end.
My own children have a VERY good work ethic. However I constantly embarrassed them by expecting others to have the same, i.e., when I would ask the grocery clerk who was talking to the sacker instead of paying attention to what they were doing, or couldn’t answer my question, and I would say something like “does someone PAY you to work here?”
Can I just simply say: “Amen!”
OH SO TRUE! I see them around our neighborhood all the time. My kids went to school with some, when they would come to my house I would put them to work right along with mine. The funny thing, they liked it! Gave them a feeling of self worth, I guess.
OH and the biggest complaint I have about “those” kids……the lack of respect for other people belongings/property.
Oh girl, AMEN and AMEN!!!!! Anything else I might say would be useless…you have said it all beautifully!
Blessings to you,
J