Get a job, already!

I feel like one of my main jobs as a parent is to help my kids turn into responsible people. I want them to be socially conscious, informed, and I want them to understand that if they want something, they have to work hard for it.

I know this probably happens to no one else, but frequently my children will ask me for money. Sometimes they will ask for things, but even then they are really just asking for cash to spend as they please (it just happens to be my cash they want to use). In recent months, they've learned to ask if they can do something to earn X amount of dollars so they can buy whatever the thing is they need that week.

I'm okay with this. Heck, I've even been known to bribe them to get what I want ("Company is coming tomorrow. Clean your room without whining or complaining and I'll give you ten bucks"). I can usually find something for them to do to earn a few dollars and then we inevitably head to Academy.

When a friend needed someone to care for her dogs while she went to the Cotton Bowl, I volunteered the boys. I did this knowing a few things as absolute fact.

1) Keaton is the dog whisperer. And goat whisperer. And cow whisperer. And people whisperer. He's a likable person, and even animals are very drawn to him. He's also generally not intimidated by new situations or, well, pets.
2) Keaton likes jobs and hard work. Those things you don't want to do because they seem monotonous and difficult? Come get Keaton and he'll get you going. He'll laugh and speculate on the best way to do something and be awfully proud when the job is done. He's a worker.
3) Tucker really likes to be waited on. I would never call him lazy because that's not it, he's just not a lazy person. But he would definitely prefer to have someone else do the stuff that doesn't sound fun to him. Case in point: He asked me today to make him a hot pocket. I told him he knew how to do that and could make his own. He told me he wasn't that hungry.

So this job seemed like a good way to let the boys show some responsibility and make a little spending money. A little part of me thought Keaton might carry the bulk of the load, but I had high hopes. A good life lesson was to come. I was sure of it.

Earlier this week the boys and I went over to meet the dogs, Stella and Bazzle. Keaton warmed up to them right away, as expected, and Tucker stood timidly over to the side looking like he wasn't entirely sure what he'd agreed to. The dogs aren't too big, but they're not small either, and they were so excited to see guests that they were jumping and licking and barking. Stella even knocked Tucker over when he wasn't paying attention. I was kind of excited about Tucker's discomfort with the situation. It's good for him to leave his comfort zone sometimes, and he doesn't often choose to do it on his own. (To be fair, I think it's a pretty wide comfort zone, but still he enjoys staying right there in what he knows.) On the way home from the meeting, Keaton said the dogs' names over and over so he wouldn't forget them, and Tucker stared out the window with a look of concern.

On our first trip to care for the dogs, Tucker read over the instructions again and again. When we arrived at the house, he and Keaton followed the directions to the letter. While Keaton rolled around in the floor with the dogs, Tucker attempted to play with Stella by throwing her tennis ball to her. He was still a little timid, but I was impressed.

On our next visit he asked to walk the dogs, but it was raining and almost dark, and I really wasn't sure if he could handle either of them on a leash, so I didn't let him. But he made me promise to let him walk the dogs the next morning because then he could be sure they got enough exercise. He was taking this job very seriously, and I liked it.

Trip three: Keaton walked Bazzle, the calmer and smaller of the two, and then Tucker took off with Stella. They were gone for what seemed like a little too long for me, so I went outside to check on them. I called Tucker's name, but got no answer. I called again, and a teeny knot of panic started to form in my throat. Calmly I started walking up the driveway, and through the dark I could hear running feet. I knew something was terribly wrong.

I advanced faster, and just past the darkness I saw Tucker running toward me. In the split second before the teeny panic became real panic, I saw Stella running beside him. Tucker grinned, "We decided to run! I thought she could use the exercise. We keep up with each other pretty well!"

Trip four including more walks, more petting and playing, and just an all around good time for all, dogs and boys included.

I don't know if Tucker got the full gravity of this little life lesson, but it was still a good one. He was really uncomfortable, but he put in the effort and ended up having a great time and earning a little money to boot. Of course I'm proud of Keaton, too, because he did everything Tucker did, but I expected it from him. This job was right up Keaton's alley, and he did not disappoint.

And so the boys had their first job and did it incredibly well. They never complained when they had to get up early during Christmas break to care for the dogs, and they made sure to follow the instructions to the letter. Pretty impressive stuff, guys!