"Nothing ever comes to one,
that is worth having,
except as a result of hard work."
Booker T. Washington
that is worth having,
except as a result of hard work."
Booker T. Washington
Today is Saturday & at our house that means pretty much only one thing -- WORK. Yard work -- house work --- chores, chores, chores and more chores. Work until there is nothing left to do (which is usually never) or until the sun doesn't shine (however since the discovery of electricity that little phrase no longer holds true because the lights can radiate until the rooster's "cockadoo" signals the sunrise).
It's common knowledge that this is the rule not the exception with the Hyde family -- so why then is it such a battle each Saturday (daily really -- but I'll not go there right now) -- to get everyone's participation without having a major melt down by them or us to get things accomplished?
Actually, I can't say that I don't know the answer to that question -- at least, with regards to our current circumstance in this life..... In fact, I've known what the underlining issue is for the past year and some ... & have been waiting for one of the kids to be brave enough to bring it up.
FINALLY it happened today -- Shealyn voiced what she and her siblings have so wanted to scream at the top of their lungs each time they have been told to do this, that or the other.
The comment went something like this, "I don't know why we have to work so much when all of the neighborhood kids get to play after school and on Saturday. All we ever get to do is work, work, work. Why can't we do what we want to do...."
So -- there we have it ...all the other kids ...
I have to admit - it does seem that way...I can count the times that I have seen kids who associate with my children outside doing chores -- I can't say that there is nothing required of them within their own homes BUT I do know that my kids are constantly having to turn friends away because they have to mow the lawn, do the dishes, clean up their rooms, help with the laundry, pick up their stuff that they have left throughout the house, sweep, vacuum, dust, watch after their little sister, help with with that and the other... etc. --
Now --- these are not assigned things that have to be done on a daily basis -- they are usually things that are asked of them only when there is need to ask for their help. So it isn't like they never get to do anything else.
To be honest, there is sooooo much more that could be required of them -- I remember having to work -- I remember feeling like my dad was cruel task master and OH how I hated doing the dishes, ironing, folding laundry, cleaning the bathroom... weeding the garden and the tams were one of the worst things ever (aaaahhhhh) -- I did really enjoy mowing the lawn... but perhaps that was a flaw in my genetic make up -- actually I still enjoy it.
John - now he was required to work!
I hear about those daily chores that he was required to do on their family "homestead" when he was not older than AnnaMerin and then the hard work that he did on top of those required things for others as means to earn money as a teen. OOOOHHH -- My experiences could never compare -- I have often thought that although I learned work in theory -- he learned work in action -- all you have to do is watch him work -- To me, John totally embodies the quote by Arnold J. Toynbee
"The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play."
To this day he sincerely finds true joy working HARD and in the accomplishment of a job well done.
I will never apologize for requiring my children to work. Don't I have a responsibility to them now and to who they will become in the future. It is such a disservice to them if I fail in this (as well as many other things -- but those things can be another SOAPBOX topic).
I know that I am showing one of my major personality flaws by saying this -- but, ...
I so want to see how these "other kids" are faring when it comes time for them to keep a house, a yard, a garden, a job..... Maybe they will do well -- I honestly hope that they do --
Learning to work is a hard work in and of itself,
but learning to work is a necessary lesson and a basis for so many other lessons in this life
and the sooner it is learned -- the better off we will be
and the further along the road we will find ourselves.
It's common knowledge that this is the rule not the exception with the Hyde family -- so why then is it such a battle each Saturday (daily really -- but I'll not go there right now) -- to get everyone's participation without having a major melt down by them or us to get things accomplished?
Actually, I can't say that I don't know the answer to that question -- at least, with regards to our current circumstance in this life..... In fact, I've known what the underlining issue is for the past year and some ... & have been waiting for one of the kids to be brave enough to bring it up.
FINALLY it happened today -- Shealyn voiced what she and her siblings have so wanted to scream at the top of their lungs each time they have been told to do this, that or the other.
The comment went something like this, "I don't know why we have to work so much when all of the neighborhood kids get to play after school and on Saturday. All we ever get to do is work, work, work. Why can't we do what we want to do...."
So -- there we have it ...all the other kids ...
I have to admit - it does seem that way...I can count the times that I have seen kids who associate with my children outside doing chores -- I can't say that there is nothing required of them within their own homes BUT I do know that my kids are constantly having to turn friends away because they have to mow the lawn, do the dishes, clean up their rooms, help with the laundry, pick up their stuff that they have left throughout the house, sweep, vacuum, dust, watch after their little sister, help with with that and the other... etc. --
Now --- these are not assigned things that have to be done on a daily basis -- they are usually things that are asked of them only when there is need to ask for their help. So it isn't like they never get to do anything else.
To be honest, there is sooooo much more that could be required of them -- I remember having to work -- I remember feeling like my dad was cruel task master and OH how I hated doing the dishes, ironing, folding laundry, cleaning the bathroom... weeding the garden and the tams were one of the worst things ever (aaaahhhhh) -- I did really enjoy mowing the lawn... but perhaps that was a flaw in my genetic make up -- actually I still enjoy it.
John - now he was required to work!
I hear about those daily chores that he was required to do on their family "homestead" when he was not older than AnnaMerin and then the hard work that he did on top of those required things for others as means to earn money as a teen. OOOOHHH -- My experiences could never compare -- I have often thought that although I learned work in theory -- he learned work in action -- all you have to do is watch him work -- To me, John totally embodies the quote by Arnold J. Toynbee
"The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play."
To this day he sincerely finds true joy working HARD and in the accomplishment of a job well done.
I will never apologize for requiring my children to work. Don't I have a responsibility to them now and to who they will become in the future. It is such a disservice to them if I fail in this (as well as many other things -- but those things can be another SOAPBOX topic).
I know that I am showing one of my major personality flaws by saying this -- but, ...
I so want to see how these "other kids" are faring when it comes time for them to keep a house, a yard, a garden, a job..... Maybe they will do well -- I honestly hope that they do --
Learning to work is a hard work in and of itself,
but learning to work is a necessary lesson and a basis for so many other lessons in this life
and the sooner it is learned -- the better off we will be
and the further along the road we will find ourselves.
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