Lessons Learned

Yesterday I came to the aide of one of my children. She was having company come from out of town...a few unexpected at the last minute. She had her hands full and I answered her call of desperation. I figured I could do something to ease the many things she had to accomplish by the end of the day.

I drove over to her house and surveyed the situation. My daughter was gone.... quickly doing errands while her kids were in school. I took it upon myself to choose what I would do to help. I cleaned some of her windows.....for some reason that REALLY helps to open up the windows and see a clean view outside. That was good for starters. Now...how do I say this kindly.....her back yard was a mess! So I set to work. Note that it was at least 106 degrees outside, but I was determined! But this is not even the point of my story.

As I was mowing, edging, weeding, sweating and trying to get it right, thoughts of my Dad came into my mind. I had visions of when I was a little girl working in my yard with my Dad. I was instantly overcome by all the things he had taught me. I smiled with satisfaction as I kept mowing. If you grew up in my home you were taught to work! Not only inside, but outside.....we called it "working on the rockpile!" As I worked in my daughter's backyard I felt very capable to "get the job done" by myself. And better yet.....I completely enjoyed it! The feeling of a freshly mowed yard does something for me! Crazy? But more than that I felt such gratitude for my Father and his constant effort in teaching me to work hard....until the job was done right. He made me come back and finish if it was not done right the first time. I took my turn weeding the "rock pile" that ran alongside our home. That was brutal....but he would check it and make sure it was perfect. Maybe that is how my "perfection" tendencies came about...for which I will not apologize.

I came from a family of 6 girls, so my Dad had it rough. He had to depend on girl-power! We all know how girls are....whiny! He hung in there. That must have been tough for him. We certainly didn't give him enough credit for his tireless effort. Every Saturday we had to answer the call to Yard Work! We all dreaded it, tried to get out of it, tried to be sneaky, maybe even told a lie or two! So true. But that didn't EVER get us out of our weekly yard duties, Oh no!

But if he could see his daughters today I think he would be proud.....all of us know how to work and get a job done. We have even tried to pass that "work ethic" on to our children. Pretty successfully....I do think. We are pretty hard task masters, capable when it comes to hard work. As I worked yesterday, I was determined not to walk away until I was satisfied with the way the backyard looked. At one point I was on my knees trimming under the swingset. I was laughing by myself! Yep, I was dripping but I had a smile on my face and a certain sense of satisfaction. Clean windows and a freshly mowed yard. Ohhhh that makes me happy!

I wish I could hug my Dad and tell him "Thanks" for his love, determination and consistency in trying to teach me the importance of hard work. Well, it worked! Who would have thought the "rock pile" could have had such an effect on my life! Hard work pays off.....Love you Dad