After about 30 minutes the Anton and Isabella were soaked to the bone and shivering. We told them to go inside as Karl and I continued to work. After we finished one more side, I told Karl we needed to break for lunch and I needed to pull on some long underwear. The extra layer helped immensely and I was able to thread 14 gauge wires into small crimper holes to link the wire mesh bundles to each other. Once all the mesh was in place, around 6:30 pm, I went inside to make a pizza from scratch while Karl and the children hung the gates.
They turned out really nice!
I took these finished product pictures a few days later,
notice the early morning sun highlighting the fence wires.
On Monday following Easter, the children and I planted fruit trees. We were only able to get 15 in the ground before the rain and lack of sunlight forced us to come inside. Karl had to go away on Navy Business again and was impressed we had gotten that much accomplished. I could not have done it without the help of the children. They helped dig, align, fill, and water the trees all day. Isabella commented how exhausted she was as I tucked her in bed that evening. She was asleep within three minutes of laying her head down. See hard work is good for children.
I love my family! We are so blessed to have each other. My children have been blessed with a knowledge of the importance of family. Their lives seem to have more purpose when they help.
I say this because I have come across this idea recently in my reading. We live in a very leisure focused society which for the most part has robbed children of their knowing how important they are to the family. Children in the pioneer time did not struggle with depression or self worth because they knew if they did not tend to their chores it meant the loss of something important. If the eggs were not collected, there were no eggs. If the poultry were not put up for the night, the predators got them. If wood was not chopped, no hot water. If seeds were not planted, no vegetables. In an effort to make things easier, we have failed to see the good in giving children tasks to be responsible for completing. Now, many children I know are held accountable for some house chores like cleaning, dusting, etc. Those children do see importance, so we do not have to revert to Amish ways. We need to trust our children to be responsible and require them to behave accordingly, otherwise we are just creating entitled beings who are waiting for mom or dad to do it for them. Past generations call this spoiling.
You may think I am crazy, but I have seen grown adults who have no clue how to clean a house or handle money matters. If they are wealthy enough they hire a maid and an accountant. But when money gets tight, what then. I have a friend who cleans houses part time. I asked her if business has been reduced due to the recession, she remarked to the opposite. They have had more jobs because people have developed a mentality of rather working longer hours and have someone else take care of their home. The result, less time with family. Something to think about.
