It was a beautiful day by Pacific Northwest standards. At about noon, the clouds wove into the trees indicating which were near and which were further away. I love how that looks, the trees inherent shapes revealing their identities, even from a distance. My favorite are the long bowed branches of the Western Red Cedar. Since it was also dry out, it was a great day to be outside.
I hadn't planned to work outside, but the neighbor boy, Adrian, owed me some work and outside work was all I could think of for him to do. See, on Saturday, Nick wanted a friend to come over and I laid down the law and said that if I didn't have some reasonable help cleaning our house that no one could come over. Ever. Things in the house had gone too far for too long.
The boy Nick wanted to invite lives in a House Beautiful cover story. I figured his mom might just drop him off, but she might also come in and look around at our living room while I was making her a mocha. After we cleaned, I was quite a bit happier in my living room. Even Nick liked when his room took shape from the bulbous mass of toys and costumes that it had been. In fact, Jack's mom just dropped Jack off. Nick said that all we really had to do was clean up the foyer, but I reminded him that the cleaning was for us as well. I even figured that we might go the extra mile and set up time for the carpet cleaners to come next week. Nick glared at me over his gaming console at that one. Now that Teddy is having fewer accidents, I told him, it would be nice to have that done. No response. Still, Nick got a great afternoon with his friend and I get to hang out in a clean house.
So when Adrian came over this afternoon, I was ready for him. He owed me work for a toy I'd bought him from ToysRUs over a month ago. You know how a kid will ask for something and when you say yes, they up the ante and what they want actually costs twice as much? Sucker that I was, I said yes. I'd begun to think he didn't really mean it when he said he'd work to pay for the cost of the toy. At one point, a couple of weeks ago, I pressed him for a plan. He didn't make one, so I took the end-run around him to his mom who had him delivering a detailed plan within 48 hours. Mike said I was mean and should have let him off of the hook, but Adrian's mom agreed with me. I don't know who's right. Mike says I'm mean a lot of time, like, whenever I hold the boys to their word or make them help out. I told Adrian that he'd feel better about himself if he did the work. The look on his face said: Yeah, right. That's just something parents say to get kids to do stuff they don't want to do, like clean the toilet and take out the garbage.
The first session of work with Adrian didn't end well. Adrian didn't put his back into it and I had to tell him more than once that I pay different rates for different levels of effort. Nick had worked alongside him and Adrian sulked when I paid cash to Nick and when he seemed to get nothing for himself. It didn't help that I pointed out that he already had this great wrestling action figure in his hot little hands. When I made him help me with the math, what he had paid of his debt, he got even more annoyed. I told him that if he always relied on his boss to figure the hours and the rate, he might end up losing money some day. I told him I wouldn't cheat him, but somebody else might. So, you do trust me, right Adrian?
Today was very different even though Adrian showed up two hours late for work. Without saying anything about the work, we got to cutting and pulling briars. Now I've told both boys that I offer hazard pay when they're doing anything with thorns or nettles. Adrian hadn't remembered that and so after we finished a bit more than his allotted half hour, I told him again. This time, when we figured the math, Adrian was grinning. He only owed me 24 more minutes of work. I even gave him the chance to keep to his original schedule and I'd pay him cash for the remainder. I figured it was so close to Christmas and he might have some shopping to do. He opted to pay off his debt and even told me he had some fun doing it.
I guess chopping down thick canes of Himalayan Blackberry is kind of satisfying, especially when you're doing it with someone else. At the end, we'd cleared a good section and filled the yard-waste container. A long time ago, I learned from experience that you don't ever compost Himalayan Blackberry, unless you want a brand new blackberry patch. One six inch length of stalk can start it's own plant in three months or less. See, all that rain we get isn't always a good thing. I like the moss hanging from the trees and the four-foot sword ferns, but I could live without the joys of blackberry trying to pull down my shed and garage.
Now Adrian can see the light at the end of the tunnel of debt he'd accrued. I'd like to think he'll work with me again after he's done the work that he owes me. I keep pointing out to the boys that there are a couple of hundred dollars out there in that field of blackberry. At first, they thought I meant literally. Ha! I should have left them to think that and they'd have plowed the thing down in a weekend.
After Adrian had finished up, I stayed outside by myself for a little while, enjoying the clear air. There's a tree, I don't know which one, that smells so fresh and sweet, a little like cotton candy and a little like balsam. Years ago, that smell made me fall in love with my yard. It was peaceful out there. Adrian had run inside to play with Nick and Mike while he still could. They haven't had much time together lately and I didn't want him to miss that.
Even after I rolled the filled yard-waste bin down to the road and put away my loppers, gloves, and Felco pruners, I wasn't ready to go inside. I need time to breathe outside, sometimes, when I don't even realize it. I found the Christmas lights Mike had intended for the little pine tree by the garage. I forget what kind of pine it is, but it's a fat little thing that friends of ours gave us for our wedding almost twenty years ago. I got out the step ladder and lassoed lights around it by myself. It doesn't look too bad. A couple of years ago, we got fourteen inches of wet snow and it looked like Dr. Seuss had designed it, with tall caps of snow and colored lights glowing underneath. I hope it snows soon. I want to see those lights in the snow again.
Just before dinner, Adrian ran home happy and his mom texted me later that it was a right that we held him to his word. I'm proud that something I had lectured about really was true, that you feel good about doing good honest work.
Thank you for listening, jb
I hadn't planned to work outside, but the neighbor boy, Adrian, owed me some work and outside work was all I could think of for him to do. See, on Saturday, Nick wanted a friend to come over and I laid down the law and said that if I didn't have some reasonable help cleaning our house that no one could come over. Ever. Things in the house had gone too far for too long.
The boy Nick wanted to invite lives in a House Beautiful cover story. I figured his mom might just drop him off, but she might also come in and look around at our living room while I was making her a mocha. After we cleaned, I was quite a bit happier in my living room. Even Nick liked when his room took shape from the bulbous mass of toys and costumes that it had been. In fact, Jack's mom just dropped Jack off. Nick said that all we really had to do was clean up the foyer, but I reminded him that the cleaning was for us as well. I even figured that we might go the extra mile and set up time for the carpet cleaners to come next week. Nick glared at me over his gaming console at that one. Now that Teddy is having fewer accidents, I told him, it would be nice to have that done. No response. Still, Nick got a great afternoon with his friend and I get to hang out in a clean house.
So when Adrian came over this afternoon, I was ready for him. He owed me work for a toy I'd bought him from ToysRUs over a month ago. You know how a kid will ask for something and when you say yes, they up the ante and what they want actually costs twice as much? Sucker that I was, I said yes. I'd begun to think he didn't really mean it when he said he'd work to pay for the cost of the toy. At one point, a couple of weeks ago, I pressed him for a plan. He didn't make one, so I took the end-run around him to his mom who had him delivering a detailed plan within 48 hours. Mike said I was mean and should have let him off of the hook, but Adrian's mom agreed with me. I don't know who's right. Mike says I'm mean a lot of time, like, whenever I hold the boys to their word or make them help out. I told Adrian that he'd feel better about himself if he did the work. The look on his face said: Yeah, right. That's just something parents say to get kids to do stuff they don't want to do, like clean the toilet and take out the garbage.
The first session of work with Adrian didn't end well. Adrian didn't put his back into it and I had to tell him more than once that I pay different rates for different levels of effort. Nick had worked alongside him and Adrian sulked when I paid cash to Nick and when he seemed to get nothing for himself. It didn't help that I pointed out that he already had this great wrestling action figure in his hot little hands. When I made him help me with the math, what he had paid of his debt, he got even more annoyed. I told him that if he always relied on his boss to figure the hours and the rate, he might end up losing money some day. I told him I wouldn't cheat him, but somebody else might. So, you do trust me, right Adrian?
Today was very different even though Adrian showed up two hours late for work. Without saying anything about the work, we got to cutting and pulling briars. Now I've told both boys that I offer hazard pay when they're doing anything with thorns or nettles. Adrian hadn't remembered that and so after we finished a bit more than his allotted half hour, I told him again. This time, when we figured the math, Adrian was grinning. He only owed me 24 more minutes of work. I even gave him the chance to keep to his original schedule and I'd pay him cash for the remainder. I figured it was so close to Christmas and he might have some shopping to do. He opted to pay off his debt and even told me he had some fun doing it.
I guess chopping down thick canes of Himalayan Blackberry is kind of satisfying, especially when you're doing it with someone else. At the end, we'd cleared a good section and filled the yard-waste container. A long time ago, I learned from experience that you don't ever compost Himalayan Blackberry, unless you want a brand new blackberry patch. One six inch length of stalk can start it's own plant in three months or less. See, all that rain we get isn't always a good thing. I like the moss hanging from the trees and the four-foot sword ferns, but I could live without the joys of blackberry trying to pull down my shed and garage.
Now Adrian can see the light at the end of the tunnel of debt he'd accrued. I'd like to think he'll work with me again after he's done the work that he owes me. I keep pointing out to the boys that there are a couple of hundred dollars out there in that field of blackberry. At first, they thought I meant literally. Ha! I should have left them to think that and they'd have plowed the thing down in a weekend.
After Adrian had finished up, I stayed outside by myself for a little while, enjoying the clear air. There's a tree, I don't know which one, that smells so fresh and sweet, a little like cotton candy and a little like balsam. Years ago, that smell made me fall in love with my yard. It was peaceful out there. Adrian had run inside to play with Nick and Mike while he still could. They haven't had much time together lately and I didn't want him to miss that.
Even after I rolled the filled yard-waste bin down to the road and put away my loppers, gloves, and Felco pruners, I wasn't ready to go inside. I need time to breathe outside, sometimes, when I don't even realize it. I found the Christmas lights Mike had intended for the little pine tree by the garage. I forget what kind of pine it is, but it's a fat little thing that friends of ours gave us for our wedding almost twenty years ago. I got out the step ladder and lassoed lights around it by myself. It doesn't look too bad. A couple of years ago, we got fourteen inches of wet snow and it looked like Dr. Seuss had designed it, with tall caps of snow and colored lights glowing underneath. I hope it snows soon. I want to see those lights in the snow again.
Just before dinner, Adrian ran home happy and his mom texted me later that it was a right that we held him to his word. I'm proud that something I had lectured about really was true, that you feel good about doing good honest work.
Thank you for listening, jb
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