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Gratitude

I grew up in a home where every repair was done by yourself. I don't recall a time when there was ever a plumber, an electrician, or any one else of that type of profession that entered our home. My dad was raised during the end of the depression era and has very strong feelings about figuring out how to do something himself because he is capable of doing it himself. When I was a child my dad decided to erect a rock wall the likes of which by today's standards would include the use of a lot of men and a back hoe at the very least. I am sure even back then machinery should have been used, but not my dad. Weekend after weekend he would take his courier pick up truck into the hills surrounding our home and search for rocks of all sizes and shapes. I am not even sure how many years it took my dad to finish the project but it was a massive structure done all by himself rock by painstaking rock.

To this day my dad is still like this. He is renovating a house in Cedar City right now and when it came time to put the ceiling beams up...yep, you guessed it, he did it himself. I can't even quite figure out how he did it but it was definitely ingenious and done solo. My parents live in a house that has a massive yard to take care of. Every Saturday growing up it would take my 5 siblings and I all day just to mow, weed, edge, sweep, etc. etc. Now all of my sibling are grown and my parents are left to do the yard work on their own. Do they pay somebody to help? No way, that would be disgraceful.

I tell you this because through the kindness of others my boys have had the opportunity to have a yard upkeep business. I thoroughly appreciate all of those in my neighborhood who have hired my boys to do those tasks that they could have done themselves. My boys have learned the value of hard work, team work, reliability, and integrity. They have learned the ins and outs of collecting money for services rendered and money management once they received that money. All of these things I can only do so much in my home to teach them. It requires them working with other people and learning the trade of a good job done for a dollar paid. I am truly grateful that at such a young age they have been able to gain skills that will carry them through the rest of their lives. Thank you neighbors and friends for giving my boys these precious opportunities.

Comments

Momnerd said…
Boy does this sound familiar!! LOL. Our dads are definitely brothers. I wish I could hire your boys! My yard is completely out of control. You are a great writer.

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