"Dad, can I mow?"
What do you say to that?
I never thought I would be a Dad. Then, I thought I would be "lucky" enough to have just one child-a son; a little bullet-proof, indestructible dynamo named Justin. One child led us to another; and another to another, and now Cathy and I have a daughter. A girly-girl princess.
Part of me wants to let her off. It's okay, Bells, honey, we got this, me 'n' Ethan. The Boys got this. Go help Mom with her flower bed; or with the laundry or the dishes...
So, instead of saying what a part of me was thinking, I really said to my little princess,
Sure! Let me show you how Ethan, Justin, Mom and I mow!
My daughter, like her two brothers before her, started mowing like a drunken sailor. Ethan saw that he had a little competition, and started bragging about how good he is at mowing.
One thing I am learning, is this: Give direction; point in the right direction and let go. The hardest part is the letting go. Standing there, smiling while each one of the kids bobs and weaves across the lawn like a drunken sailor on shore leave~
...Or Scotty, sauced on Romulan Ale. That's the hard part, isn't it? Delegating a challenging task, and then watching someone else take that task and complete it in their own way. And, no matter what, telling him or her that they did a GREAT job... But, there might be one, or maybe two things to work on improving next time.
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| Justin mowing in 2012 |
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| Ethan mowing |
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| Bella mowing |
It's kind of important that they have fun building a good work ethic. It's got to be a positive experience. What's that old saying, Find something you love to do and you'll never have to work a day in your life? Not a bad thing to pass on.
