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I guess my father must have missed that memo.
Here is what he "gave" us. Everyday after school, get out to the fields or barn and work till dark. Homework came after work was done and you better keep good grades. In return for doing chores year round and field work (Incidentally I started driving tractor at the age of 4) you were rewarded with the pick of the calf crop. We had 2,000 acres cash/crops and 300 head of beef cattle, usually 15-20 were picked as show calf prospects and sold accordingly, so I amd my brothers got first pick of those calves (1) and the feed to feed them till show. He also paid me $1.00/hr to bale hay from July till the time to go back to school. He didn't give me anything, I needed to earn it...I figure I paid for my animals and feed by the use of my back and muscles. I did the exact same thing with my two sons.
I have to agree with you on this Steve. My parents weren't into animals at all, I had to convince them to let me have them. My Dad grew up with horses and other stuff, he knew the work and wanted nothing more to do with it. I talked them into letting me fix up an old shed. I worked for a neighbor, helping them peel their cedar logs for fence posts, they paid me with extra logs for my own fence. I worked off every bit of stuff I needed. I had a part time job, I bought my own lamb, his food, everything. I cried when I loaded him on that truck and then bought my first car with the profit! I should say, I started with rabbits and my neighbor was my 4-H leader, that helped!
My kids do their chores before school and as soon as they get home. Before their snack and homework. They help pay for things, the older ones get jobs and pay for their own vehicles, and stuff like cell phones, etc. They do their own laundry, help clean, etc. It amazed me when my oldest moved into an apartment with a bunch of other guys, at one time their was 6 of them living there, he was the only one that knew how to load the dishwasher and the only one that could cook ANYTHING!! He was the only one that would vacuum and clean up. The others would do their laundry because they had to, but they wouldn't clean anything else, it was disgusting. The next year he was much pickier on who he shared an apartment with!!
