Will Work for Cookies

Entitlement seems to be the parenting buzzword these days.  Kids
who think they should have pretty much anything they want just
because their parents can give it to them.  Drives me crazy, I guess
because I didn't grow up that way.  When I was old enough to work,
I had part time jobs. The best paying summer job was working in
the tobacco field.  I worked at the barn, laying the leaves on the sticks
to prepare them for hanging in the barn to cure. I drove the tractor in
the fields, too.  Hard, hot work in rural , piedmont  NC, but it paid well.
At the end of the day, you went home tired and very nasty, but with
money in your pocket.  Now, I think you'd be hard pressed to find a
teenager who would work in any kind of field.  This has become the
work of migrants from other countries.   When I told my kids that was
how I made my money, I'm not sure they believed me.  I had other
jobs too.  I taught baton and dance classes, worked in a grocery store
and a fast food restaurant.  This was all while I was in high school.
It was expected that my sister and I would pay for our car insurance
and gas.  We shared a car.   Also, things like special (expensive, name
brand) clothes were paid for by money I had earned.  I don't remember
ever thinking it wasn't fair for me to do this.  It seemed perfectly fair
to me.  My dad and mom worked hard and provided me with everything
I needed and lots of things I wanted.  I didn't expect them to pay for
everything.  I liked working and earning my own money.

Times have changed.  One thing I have noticed about young people
today, is they want to move out on their own and have all the nice things
they were accustomed to, while living at home with mama and daddy.
Things it took mama and daddy years to accumulate.  We had hand me
down furniture for what seemed like forever and some rooms with no
furniture. I used cloth diapers on our first two babies and hung them
on the line to dry because we didn't have a dryer.  I can remember
wanting a microwave so badly and not being able to afford one.
Thank goodness , this was before credit card offers showed up weekly
in the mailbox.  We had to work a long time to establish credit.   And
then we were paranoid to use it.  That turned out to be a good thing.
I'm afraid we would have abused it, if we could.
It was hard, but we needed hard.  I look back on those times and I'm
glad we struggled to get started.  It helped us grow up together and we
appreciated the things we worked to obtain.  No handouts.  I'm afraid
too many young couples today miss out on this kind of growing experience.

Okay, enough of that.  I'll step off my soapbox now.

When an eleven year old friend contacted me (by Facebook, because
that's just how it's done these days) and asked me if I had some work
she could do to earn money, I was happy to help her out.  Yes!!!  A
kid who wants to work for something.  This is a good thing.  I have
plenty of yard and garden work that always needs to be done and she
said she didn't mind working in the heat and getting dirty.

We worked all morning, weeding, picking lots of bugs and harvesting food
from the gardens.  She did a pretty good job as long as I kept her focused
on the task at hand.

And boy did she get dirty!!!   After a few hours, she commented that gardens
were a lot of work.  Yes, they are.
After breaking for lunch, I thought we might go back out and work some
more, but she had other things in mind.   As she finished up her tuna
sandwich she said, "You know, I feel like baking something.  Could
we bake something?" I asked her what she had in mind.  Her response,
" chocolate chip cookies."  Well, I just happen to know how to make
 chocolate chip cookies, having turned out hundreds from my kitchen
over the years.   We pulled out the recipe card and I sat at the kitchen
counter and snapped beans for dinner while she made cookies.

With just a little help from me, she did a fine job.  She's going to make

a great cook someday.

It just doesn't get much better than warm chocolate chip cookies right

out of the oven.

Right, Katie?

All in all, I'd say she was a happy girl.  She had worked hard, (which

always makes you feel good), baked and enjoyed some fresh cookies,  

and was going home with some cold, hard cash in her pocket.

She said, "I feel rich."  Not a bad way to spend a day of summer vacation.