Single parents...
have it rough.
This really came home to me on Saturday. My wife had to take off for a few hours so I was home with the boys until late afternoon. My eldest had to do his chores (feed and water the chickens and water the pasture critters) and sweep up after I did his job of mowing the lawn. That's it. It really doesn't seem to be all that difficult to me.
But I was wrong. And my eldest was going to show me.
I'm in the shop with the youngest running around underfoot asking me every question that pops into his brain when my son tells me he's done and wants to go to his friend's house. "Did you water the critters?" I ask him. "Oops, I forgot," he says. So off he drags himself to actually turn on the water...that's all it takes, turning the knob. While he does that, I glance out the shop door and see grass all over the driveway. I tell him about the grass and off he goes.
Time passes.
He's back in the shop wanting to head out now...again. "Did you turn the water off?" I ask him. "Oops" he answers again and I mention that the driveway is still covered with grass. "Whadda ya mean?" he asks me. So, I set down the tools and walk along the driveway showing him the grass. "Well, that doesn't sweep up," he says. What in the world does that even mean?! I encourage him to use the leaf blower and remind him we do have a walkway up to the front door.
More time passes.
He's back ready to take off. "Did you take care of the chickens?" I query. "Oops" is once again the answer I hear from him. How in the world can you oops two of the three things you had to do and not actually do the third! While he's going to the chicken coop, I head out to the driveway to see it covered in the same grass it had before. Now, please remember that I already mowed the lawn for him and trimmed it. He had to merely remove the loose blades of grass!
It was at this point I was ready to blow and immediately turned to my wife...who wasn't there. Thankfully I waited for her to come home and help with the incident before the kid completed his evil plan of driving me completely insane. Anyway, this was a huge illustration to me of how hard single parents have it. There is nobody to turn to when the kids are winning. They have to try and keep themselves in control on their own without help. That's tough.
This really came home to me on Saturday. My wife had to take off for a few hours so I was home with the boys until late afternoon. My eldest had to do his chores (feed and water the chickens and water the pasture critters) and sweep up after I did his job of mowing the lawn. That's it. It really doesn't seem to be all that difficult to me.
But I was wrong. And my eldest was going to show me.
I'm in the shop with the youngest running around underfoot asking me every question that pops into his brain when my son tells me he's done and wants to go to his friend's house. "Did you water the critters?" I ask him. "Oops, I forgot," he says. So off he drags himself to actually turn on the water...that's all it takes, turning the knob. While he does that, I glance out the shop door and see grass all over the driveway. I tell him about the grass and off he goes.
Time passes.
He's back in the shop wanting to head out now...again. "Did you turn the water off?" I ask him. "Oops" he answers again and I mention that the driveway is still covered with grass. "Whadda ya mean?" he asks me. So, I set down the tools and walk along the driveway showing him the grass. "Well, that doesn't sweep up," he says. What in the world does that even mean?! I encourage him to use the leaf blower and remind him we do have a walkway up to the front door.
More time passes.
He's back ready to take off. "Did you take care of the chickens?" I query. "Oops" is once again the answer I hear from him. How in the world can you oops two of the three things you had to do and not actually do the third! While he's going to the chicken coop, I head out to the driveway to see it covered in the same grass it had before. Now, please remember that I already mowed the lawn for him and trimmed it. He had to merely remove the loose blades of grass!
It was at this point I was ready to blow and immediately turned to my wife...who wasn't there. Thankfully I waited for her to come home and help with the incident before the kid completed his evil plan of driving me completely insane. Anyway, this was a huge illustration to me of how hard single parents have it. There is nobody to turn to when the kids are winning. They have to try and keep themselves in control on their own without help. That's tough.
posted by Pastor Tom at 1:44 PM
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