The Circle of Work

One of the most challenging things about raising kids was getting them to do the endless jobs that needed to be done -- way too much for one mother and one father to do by themselves. We used every method, scheme, and game that has ever been invented. We bribed, we threatened, we worked side by side, we rewarded, we tried it all. For some reason we could never figure out, our kids would gladly work for hours at their friends' homes. According to them, it was way more fun to do someone else's work.

I guess we've come full circle. On Saturday we made a quick decision to drive to Champaign and spend the day with Quinn. Tiffany and the kids were in Utah and Quinn was getting pretty lonely. We had a great day. Randy helped Quinn put his yard to bed for the winter and then they cleaned out his garden. I did the laundry and ironed and ironed and ironed. And we figured something out. Never mind that we still have hours of work to do in our own yard, and never mind that my own laundry basket is full of things to be ironed. Our kids were right. It's WAY more fun to do someone else's work.

Our bonus was seeing this beautiful tree next to Quinn's apartment. It has been kind of a disappointing fall so far. Maybe there's some beautiful color ahead of us, but this is the prettiest, most vibrant tree I've seen this year.