Today, I herded the kids outside to work on the branches (from the really big branch) that fell a few weeks ago. We are cutting the smaller branches into kindling and the bigger branches into firewood for the winter. This requires stripping off the leaves first. This, as you will recall, was a monster sized branch. I had planned on paying someone to do it, but the mini-remodel in the breezeway followed by the discovery that my roof needs major repair, followed immediately by the realization that my cooler is leaking...well, let's just say it was no longer in the budget. The kids didn't want to work on it. They were finding every excuse to avoid it. And I was becoming grouchier by the minute as I watched them mess around and do very little actual work.
Finally, I went outside and proceeded to behave in a crazed, run-for-the-hills manic manner as I tore into the branches, grumbling about children who didn't want to contribute to the household welfare but wanted all the benefits of it. Part of me worries that my kids will grow up to be lazy people who can't take care of their homes and families, and part of me recognizes that MOST kids don't want to do such hard work and I'm expecting a lot of them. I also know that as a single mom, if the kids don't help me, we are unlikely to be able to keep up with all that needs to be done around the house.
The children did ultimately help out a little more, and as it turns out, tearing up branches and sweating to death in the August heat did in fact calm me down. The kids and I have done a lot of good this summer, not just around our home, but also at the Bishop's storehouse and at Poverello House. We can do this...together!
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