I don't know about anyone who may read this, but my generation (by and large at least) was raised on conveniences. The remote control for the TV as invented when I was a child, the TV dinner was all the rage, boxed meals, hamburger helper and canned pasta came 'of age' along side of me. Is it any wonder that *we* (my generation) struggles with raising kids with solid work ethics?
All three of our children were in college at the same time. Much of the time they heard through their peer groups "I just want my work to be fun!" Now, I do understand this. Certainly work being 'fun' would be more on the positive side than work being 'grueling'. I'm not a glutton for punishment. What about enjoyment. I mean a real satisfaction type of enjoyment.
One of my dearest friends has been a lady almost twice my age. She tells of the hard work in the garden, milking the cows and preserving the harvest as a young child. The fun came when the work was done and they'd run to the pond to cool off or play in the hay-barn after stacking hay bales. But there was enjoyment in each and every chore. Those memories for her are as dear as the 'fun'. I admire that. I long for that attitude. I want my children to have that attitude as well as my grandchildren.
Why must work equal bad and fun equal good?
This morning my daughters and I picked blueberries (yes, AGAIN) as we have for the last 5 mornings (all but Saturday morning). We will do this for the next two weeks in the hot, wet, bug infested back yard. All the while, we are sweating and holding increasingly heavier containers of berries while we dig in the bush and fight off the bees and flies (and squeal at each buzz that comes toward our ears)...but I have looked forward to this each and every winter. As I would pass that bare and naked, knarled bush with no life to offer, I looked forward to working in it for weeks with my daughters as we have every year since living here.
Fun seems to be something that finds you - whereas - enjoyment is something you have to look for, and that's just not a bad thing at all. The most precious gifts are usually something we have to search for rather than have dropped in our laps anyway!
I hope you will enJOY the journey, the work and the challenges...don’t worry the fun will come too!
