You Gotta Earn Your Keep, Kiddo!

Mar 21 2010

When the kids wake up on a weekend and it's a glorious spring morning, I'm pretty sure they try to avoid me as much as possible. And when they see me reach for the gardening gloves, they probably hightail it as far away as possible.

This past weekend, I put those younguns to work!

We raked, shoveled, tilled, and just about anything else you can think of to get the grounds in shape after a long, cold winter.

The kids weren't too happy about it.

Katie was especially angry over a bug that kept bothering her.

Teenage girls and bugs do not mix well. Combined with runny mascara, the combination is practically combustible!

The kids had friends over. And, yes, they had to work, too.

I'm THAT mom.

I remember when I was growing up--Saturdays during the spring meant labor. There were vegetables to plant, vines to prune, weeds to pull, and all sorts of things that make kids suddenly come up with a thousand reasons why they need to rush over to a friend's house.

I knew they would somehow come up with an excuse to not work if I gave them any advance notice. That's why I didn't tell them they were going to do yardwork until I had them cornered during lunch. They couldn't back out!

I never have understood hiring a lawn service when you have capable kids at home.

Isn't that why we had them in the first place? Free labor?