I just hung up with Tyler. Tonight we talked and laughed and even sighed all about what it takes to be a grown up. His comment was that he just didnt have enough time for fun after work and college and all of his responsiblities. It is real now. He has officially become a grown up.
It is something we all have to do. I am constantly talking to Jonathen about work ethic. Try that conversation with an eleven year old boy whose idea of responsibility is, is, hmm I struggle to find something to type. Bottom line is that it is my job to help ease my boys into the reality of being a grown up while balancing the enjoyment of being a kid. After all, we all know that time doesn’t last long enough.
As for Jonathen’s chore list, it is coming back in a major way. It just took a vacation long enough to move and get settled into the new house. But with that, I have been doing a lot of thinking. Work ethic must be taught. The more we ask our children to do, the more normal it feels to work. Without it they will never be able to leave home. The world will be too overwhelming.
Or is it more that we have to teach them the enjoyment of work. It feels good to be productive and to achieve small goals. That enjoyment also keeps you inspired to find new projects and so on.
I guess it is both.
Matt and I were driving home from the grocery store tonight and he looked over to me and said it had been a good weekend. Our weekend was full of hardwork. Two days spent working in the yard. So I looked over to see if he was serious! He was. He went on to say it felt so good to be productive together.
So with all of this, my talk with Tyler, my chore chart with Jonathen and my productive weekend being a grown up with my husband, I realize the value in the word work. With that comes clarity, what I really need to teach my boys is to embrace it and to feel its potential. Instead of looking at it as a chore and also to remember there are times in our lives that we have to work harder in order to have more enjoyment later. That one is for you, my Tyler. And one day your other brothers too.
