they will never be bored again!

Over the years, I have spent a lot of time teaching the kids manners.  I actually bought Miss Manners book.  The darn thing is about three inches thick and weighs five pounds.  It probably would have been more useful to just throw it at the kids to get their attention, but I actually read it to them.  PURE TORTURE!  They learned quickly not to tell me they were bored in the summer.  I always made sure to fill their time!  Chores were the first line of boredom remedy.  I always had a dozen or more chore assignments to hand out.  As they got older, the chores got bigger.  They learned quickly to keep themselves busy and not whine about having nothing to do.

The other deal we had, was that I would finance purchases for them in exchange for  work around the house and property.  We have a large storage/garage building on our property that I sent Pook and the Surprise out to paint one summer day. The boys were teenagers, and the chore was in response to wanting clothing or money for something.  The first complaint was that I asked them to repaint the white building white.  It had been years, and the building needed a fresh coat of paint.  Keep in mind that this is not a small building.  Begrudgingly the two of them headed out to paint.  About thirty minutes later, they returned.  I figured they were hungry or thirsty.  No -- believe it or not they claimed to be done!  "Great!  Nice job boys.  Let me go inspect your work!"

I was not born yesterday and I am smart enough to know that no building that size can be painted in thirty minutes even with two people working on it!  Sure enough, as I got down there, the building seemed to look the same.  They swore they painted it!  I checked all around and noticed that on the south side, they had strategically placed swipes of paint over just a few areas that they decided only needed touched up.  They forgot the frame of the garage door and also the window frames.  Then I got around to the north side of the building and realized immediately that instead of prepping anything, they had simply painted over the moss that was growing on the cement block.  They never thought I would notice.

Well, needless to say the boys got quite a lecture on doing a job the proper way and not cutting corners.  They were sure that they had been ratted out by the neighbor, which I took as an insult to my intelligence and ability to evaluate their work. The shopping trip was delayed, with the possibility of cancellation if they did not head immediately back to the building to paint it correctly!  To this day, their complaint is that it is ridiculous to paint a white building white again.  And, I am sticking to my logic in the matter!

The building is going to need repainted soon.  I wonder who will be bored next?   Enjoy your week and know that every day and event in your life is a gift so make sure to look at the funny side of things!