I heard there was going to be bad weather this weekend, so as soon as JJ got home from school, I rounded everyone up and we went out to rake leaves. We have six trees in our backyard. Huge trees. Trees that have a million and one leaves. Most of the leaves have fallen and they were dry so I figured it would be a lot easier to rake and bag now than to try to deal with a soggy, matted mess next week. Tomorrow and Saturday are going to be busy days and I didn't know if we'd have enough time to get the leaves raked. And I don't want to try to rake wet leaves.
Well, the kids weren't too thrilled about that. But we did it anyway. And I got to thinking about work.
One of the characteristics of my family is hard work. I remember my Dad always seemed to have a project going on somewhere during my growing up years. He had something he was working on on the house, in the yard, at my grandparents'. He didn't like to stop a project until it was done. His Dad (my grandfather) had a saying, "Don't stop working in the middle of a row".
My parents also taught their children "A honest day's work for a day's pay". If you are going to be paid for 8 hours of work, then you put in 8 hours of work.
I saw this on a sign somewhere and it stuck with me: Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.
Another quote I read in a book (I'm paraphrasing slightly since I don't have the book): "The preachers say the Lord cursed Adam by making him earn his bread by the sweat of his brow. I say it was the best thing the good Lord ever did. To reap the rewards of one's own work is the true meaning of joy".
I get restless if I go too long without something constructive to do. I like taking vacations as much as anyone and I enjoy our time away from "real life" but I also enjoy coming back home to my normal routines.
Work is not the bad thing a lot of people seem to think it is. Work, balanced with play, is what makes a happy life.
No comments:
Post a Comment