They Can at Least Sweep the Grass

I used to hate it when my dad would wake me up on a beautiful, sunny Saturday morning to go outside in the heat in the middle of Georgia (God's country) to cut our grass. I really believe that that he oftentimes forgot that I had a soccer game the day before or I was resting from a long academic week touched by hanging with my friends. Parents to need to be more sensitive to these things. It wasn't until I had kids, boys at that, that I realized that Saturday mornings, or any morning needed to be times where I do less work and they do more.  I mean, let's face it. My dad would show me how to cut grass or sweep the floor. Then it felt like he would lie down in a hammock soaking up rays with an Arnold Palmer and watch me, screaming out some mess like, 'Hey, you missed a spot!' I'm half cussin' (IN MY MIND...) about how I don't want to do this work and why can't he do this instead and why come I don't have anything to drink...

Well, here's how it happened. We just drove back from Orlando. It took us 16 hours (there were too many detours and traffic jams to talk about). I'm up the next morning getting breakfast together (while they're watching tv).  Then I cut the grass in the heat (while they watch tv). I bet you can figure out where this is going. I caught a quick attitude. I started fussin' at myself, getting angry at me. Why are my sons chillaxin' in the AC while I'm outside in the heat, uncomfortable, and cutting grass? I wrote a blog a while ago that simply stated, 'If daddy is working, you work.'  Well, I called them outside, trying to calm down. I modeled how I needed my grass swept (a couple of times, of coarse) and continued in my work. Im not sure if I got more enjoyment looking at my freshly manicured grass or watching my boys help me get it manicured. Both were beautiful sights. 

I gotta get this. My boys are more capable than I give them credit. I see

why my dad did it. He was probably fussin' at his dad in that humid SC heat when he had to do work. 

My dad is from Allendale, SC. The city is as large as this blog post. I saw pictures of his dad. He was always in the field working. In fact, he wore long johns clear into June every year. Remember I said long johns in the middle of South Carolina in the heat. You got that, right? Dad learned lots of work habits from him, in which he passed them down to me. What kind of parent would I be...if I...didn't pass these same habits down...to my boys?

Dads, get them outside. Get them away from the tv and the remote controls and the Playstation, Wii, Xbox, Y & Z box, and even the phones, and get them outside. These are just life traits they need. I'm learning. I'm NOS...