My Lazy Brood

I love my kids, but they are really a lazy bunch.  Getting them to do anything is like pulling teeth.  Asking a teenager to do anything translates to "you're ruining my life"..asking a nine year old means "you cannot do anything else with your entire day"..and asking a three year old..is well moot..(NO..I'm not).

City kids... I'm telling you

I'm going to try really hard here to not sound like my parents.. or my grandparents... you know the old "I walked to school in four feet of snow with snowshoes on, in -30 weather; uphill the whole time".. you know the story, we've all heard it or at least some variation of it, but I just can't help myself.

This poor kid had to walk over a frozen river even!

I remember being my son's age (after all is wasn't that long ago..hahah I kill myself).  First I had a job..like a job that paid me money, that I sometimes had to ride my bike to get to.  I had this job while still in school, and I still had to make time to study; back then your teacher could actually 'fail'  you.

I remember my favorite summer pastime of picking rocks (yes rocks..it's not a typo.. I did not mean to say flowers and accidentally said rocks..but I am kidding about the favorite part).  My step-father (whom I call Dad) would barge into my room in the wee hours of the morning shouting (not gently nudging you awake) "Get up, it's time to pick rocks..the tractor is already started, I'll meet you outside"; and you get up pissed right off and spend the day picking tiny pebbles (ok that's what it felt like) out of a massive field while your dad drove the tractor..drinking a beer..and occasionally getting off the tractor to help you with the 'big' rocks.

or

Bottle feeding calves; sure they're cute with their big brown cow eyes, but after awhile they look like nothing more than veal (sorry peeps).  They head butt you to get at their bottles, slobbering all over you, crawling all over each other for 'their turn'.

or

Weeding a garden, like the time I told my 4H leader I had grown my 'project garden'..which I hadn't..and then panicked when they wanted to come judge it..and then (by yourself..not with your parents) begging your old Eighty year old neighbour to let you weed their mess of a garden, because you lied..and you REALLY need a garden.

or

Starting dinner every night because your Dad works in the barn, and your Mom works out of town, so it's up to you to get it started for the family..or else you won't eat until 9pm.

Ok..I wan't this young...but CLOSE!

or

Sleeping with your mitts on in the winter because it's fricken freezing...and you actually have to break the thin layer of ice that lies over your water glass in order to get a drink..

or

Fighting with your parents or your siblings for T.V. time because you only have one T.V. and it only has four channels.

My favorite game show of all time

Yes.. I've officially become one of 'those' parents.  As much as I hated all of these things at the time, I'm so grateful for them as an adult.

It makes me wonder what my kids will be like as adults.  What sort of work ethic they'll have..I mean let's face it, our kids are coddled!  Sorry...no bones about it... they are!

I think (but I'm not sure how yet) I've got to ship my kids off to some Hutterite farm or something for the summer.  They'd hate it..but maybe they'd thank me as adults??