My younger daughter spent some time in the workshop with me this afternoon.
D: "Why do you have a radio on?"
Me- "sometimes it gets a bit boring, it helps pass the time."
D: "it won't be boring if you've got someone to talk to..."
I love that they take such an interest in things like this!
There are some serious advantages to working from home when I can.
Growing up I was always around my parents when they were working. Both would work from home most of the time and they would both also go and work at other farms as well at times. Basically one of them was always at home and it was a nice constant to be relied upon.
It also meant that we (my siblings and me) got involved with everything when we could or when we were old enough and could see what they did each time. I have great memories of this as a child and hope that our kids will have something similar.
Did you watch your parents work when you were young?
Always....Mostly Grandparents when younger, Mum later on but very rarely Dad (except when he built the boat). I suspect this was mostly to do with his job rather than any unwillingness to have us around...I got to do office chores as a teenager :).
ReplyDeleteviv
I don't think I can read your comment without asking about the boat he built!? Office jobs are very different and the opportunities just aren't here for kids to help I imagine (I've never worked in an office)
DeleteHartley 14 foot called 'Twinkle'. Dad was a lawyer in a reasonably remote place called Ranfurly on the Maniototo Plain. There was a row of elderly and very dilapidated shops on the far side of the railway station (the town centre was moved when the railway came through) and he used one of those so we would go there about three evenings a week for a few hours and pretend we were boat builders and knew what we were doing. We sailed that thing on the local irrigation ponds as there wasn't anywhere else (some of them were quite big...to our eyes anyhow...) Eventually he sold that and built a sunburst which was far easier to sail solo but by that time I'd gone off to boarding school so I didn't have much input there except to help sail it. We were great at finishing first...at the wrong end of any race :) but it was all fun! In fact Dad started the local boat club with a couple of friends and through that knew my husband's father although we met elsewhere and unknowing about that until much later.
DeleteMy Dad died rather young so these memories are precious! If you google images of the West Eweburn Dam in the Maniototo, Otago, New Zealand you will get some idea of where we sailed.
viv
She's a smart helper! Nice to see you've carried on what you learned from your parents. Sadly, I didn't have that opportunity. My parents pretty much led their own lives.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I was lucky to spend so much time with mine growing up. I remember a friend at high school telling me that I was lucky as I knew my dad and he had no idea the kind of person his was.
DeleteYes! Mom stayed home with us and we lived on a farm, so we always did chores with dad..took care of the animals, cut wood, baled hay, etc. Dad is on his 70’s now and always talked about how much he enjoyed us being out there with him
ReplyDeleteIt creates some great memories for both the young and the older ones involved. I love having my kids with me and I think it makes them a lot tougher and wiser when they have actual jobs to do.
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