I do enjoy work, and I feel like I was really blessed to have the work ethic instilled in me as a child by my father. We always worked. You didn’t get something for nothing; you had to work for it. As a child, if I misbehaved, I worked. So many incidents, but one in particular rings out in my head.
I was twelve years old, and wild. My cousins lived down the street, five boys, one little girl, and I loved being over there and being one of the boys.
One day while I was over playing, my oldest cousin Chris had a BB gun.
Wow, a real BB gun.
We went up to the loft in one of the bedrooms and looked out the window.
What could we shoot?
We shot at a few cans off the brick wall, not really much fun though. There had to be something more exciting to shoot at.
Looking around we noticed a home under construction, one house behind us and one house over to the left.
Perfect!
We didn’t much consider the fact that there were several men working on it at the time. All we saw was the perfect target.
Should we try for the window?
Would the BB gun really shoot that far?
I don’t know?
We tried.
Nothing.
Not even a response from the workers.
Did it go through the window?
I don’t think so.
Let me try!
Always out to prove something I took my fair turn shooting at the window.
Oh dear, the workers noticed!
And the worst part about them noticing is that they saw us, and the worst part about them seeing us is that it was a home my father was in charge of building.
That bad twisting of foreboding lurched in my gut. I knew I was in for it. And I was.
My father sat Chris and I down in my bedroom to have a “talk”. I sat stone faced, Chris bawled (forgive me if you ever read this Chris, but you really did bawl, not even just cried).
We were to pay for the window, and in order to pay for it we were going to work construction that summer. That involved getting up at five and working until noon, because if you work much past that in an Arizona summer, you do run the risk of heat stroke.
We were to pay for the window, and in order to pay for it we were going to work construction that summer. That involved getting up at five and working until noon, because if you work much past that in an Arizona summer, you do run the risk of heat stroke.
So we worked, we worked with Tyler, preparing a plot of land for building. I guess? I don’t know for sure, I was twelve, and it was hard, but it was rewarding as well.
Hard work. I’ve learned to love it.
There are many other incidents where I’ve learned the value of hard work, but this one is my favorite, it was my real introduction to outdoor labor.
Now I’ve been busy. We’ve signed a two-year lease on our duplex and it needs a lot of hard work. It could easily be lived in as is, but it’s not really Megan acceptable, it needs my TLC. So that is what I’ve been doing, loving and fixing my new home. The countdown is on and we need to be moved in by the end of May, so my blog will be suffering as a result of my hard work. But my attitude will be improved and I’ll be much happier and more energized with doing the work. I’ll try to keep you updated.
6 comments:
So have you come up with any painting or decorating ideas yet? You will have to send pictures because I would love to see your progress and ideas. Have Fun!
I would love to see pictures of all of your progress on your new place.
A good work ethic is so important to me. My parents have their own business so we were taught at an early age to help out. There aren't a whole lot of sick days when your dad's your boss. :)
Good luck and have fun. I have run out of the desire to finish my projects at our house. So post your before and after picture. It will hopefully motivate me!!
It's so funny how we grew up in the same family, but so differently. Work was never required of me as daily life or punishment. But perhaps my perfection made no punishment necessary! J/K
I can't wait to see what you've been doing with your house. PLEASE do take plenty of pictures!
Yeah, I kind of got skipped on the outdoor labor too, Amy. But I know how to work nonetheless.
Hey, Megan - why did you and Corey (yet another Jones boy) have to work in that ditch on dad's land in Colorado? I remember you guys saw a snake and Corey went screaming after dad's truck! Is that how it goes? I can't remember, but I remember it was an entertaining story. Please refresh my memory.
To the condo: I want after pictures b/c the befores were quite interesting. I think before/after pics would inspire everyone - and show how much a coat of paint really can do (can you tell I'm thinking of the laundry room?).
Mandi-
Corey and I were digging that ditch for $500 each, we never finished it. It was an insane project to expect two fifteen year olds to finish on their own. But we worked hard. Dad would drop us off first thing in the morning and pick us up towards the end of the afternoon. Lot's of fun. Scary though, cause there was rumored to be a monstrous rattlesnake roaming the ditches and had been spotted once or twice by some other people. After Corey and I were dropped off one day we went down into the ditch and Corey saw the rattler. He screamed like a little girl and ran after the 4-Runner that dad was driving away in. Dad saw him in the rearview mirror running after him. The snake we saw wasn't the rumored monster rattler, but he was big enough to scare the crap out of us. We knew we couldn't work with him in there so we killed him. I hated it. So did Corey and dad. We had no way to kill it but to stone it, and I cringed with every thrown rock. But for our own safety of working in the same area, we had to. Funny story though. And I'll definitely post before and after pics when I'm done with some of my house projects.
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