The rest of the week felt something like this:
You load sixteen tons, what do you get
Another day older and deeper in debt
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
(because I got no allowance :)
The lyrics are from the song "16 Tons". I'm being a little melodramatic here, but only a little. The rest of the week was taken up by one physically demanding project or another. There was lots of digging and sawing and hauling. One year we dug a trench (down past the basement to install drainage tiles) all the way around our house. Another year we built a 2-car car port. We dug shallow drainage ditches all around the edges of the property. Shingled the house roof. Built a shed. Built another shed. Every year (usually twice a year) we did pick and shovel work to smooth out the dirt road that connected our little neighborhood to the county road....hauling gravel where it was needed.
Saint Peter don't you call me 'cause I can't go
I owe my soul to the company store
(because I got no allowance :)
The lyrics are from the song "16 Tons". I'm being a little melodramatic here, but only a little. The rest of the week was taken up by one physically demanding project or another. There was lots of digging and sawing and hauling. One year we dug a trench (down past the basement to install drainage tiles) all the way around our house. Another year we built a 2-car car port. We dug shallow drainage ditches all around the edges of the property. Shingled the house roof. Built a shed. Built another shed. Every year (usually twice a year) we did pick and shovel work to smooth out the dirt road that connected our little neighborhood to the county road....hauling gravel where it was needed.
That was in addition to the regular chores. We did chores year round, but the work really ramped up during my dad's summer vacation. If I could go back and skip all of that, I wouldn't. I can't say it was fun, but it was educational. Plus, we accomplished a lot with our own hands and that's always a nice feeling.
I need to be a better dad--by working my kids much harder, so they can have that nice feeling too! :)
I need to be a better dad--by working my kids much harder, so they can have that nice feeling too! :)
He certainly worked you boys! Did the girls too? A little hard work doesn't hurt anyone, IMO. It's just how much you want to fight with your kids to get them to do hard work.
ReplyDeleteMy dad believed in keeping us busy. My theory is that he hoped it would keep us from having the time to do some of the crazy stuff he and his brothers did growing up. :)
DeleteI'm sure the sisters worked hard too. But my dad was more than a little sexist, so it wouldn't have been the same type of labor. Because they were all older (the youngest is 7 years older them I am), I remember me doing dishes, vacuuming, etc. more than they did--but I was probably just too young to remember when they were doing it.
lol, I'm sure your kids are going to love that :)
ReplyDeleteI gave them just a small taste of it once--raking leaves at my dad's house (which was surrounded by huge oak trees)...but no digging or sawing or chopping wood. Yet! :D
Deletedigging ditches and car ports is pretty physically demanding. but it's a great way to work out and be productive at the same time.... I got a dog in hopes that I wil jog more, and hence I cancelled my gym membership, and I don't find myself jogging more and now I don't have a gym membership and another mouth to feed. haha
ReplyDeleteWell...walking 4 hours a week lowers your risk of something or other, so just walking the little prince is doing good things for you.
DeleteI took being in shape for granted. Even when my lifestyle changed (to being bound to a desk), I was able to coast for quite a few years. But eventually that caught up to me and the struggle began. I really miss the days when just living my life kept me in shape.
I can't say I ever spent any summers doing any digging or sawing!
ReplyDeletexo, Yi-chia
Always Maylee
You're not alone. As summer vacations go, those were pretty unusual. :)
DeleteDoesn't Sheldon sing that song in an episode of TBBT? You certainly learned the value of hard work at an early age and it's served you well... so maybe your dad got part of that right :)
ReplyDeleteI think Sheldon did sing it! My dad had some really good qualities--making me work was not one of them. LOL! I know you know I'm kidding about the work. In some ways my dad was a better father than I am.
DeleteYour dad worked all of you good! I cannot imagine the kids of this generation doing all those that you did. It is real hard labour so I can imagine the satisfaction at the end of it all.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, it does give a good feeling of satisfaction to have accomplished whatever it was. But occassionally I find myself trying to take on more than I should, because I think I can do it. :)
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