Endurance

I hope everyone had a great Father’s Day Weekend! I spent mine enjoying some mid-summer type fun – a little yard work, swimming, and, of course, some barbecuing.

I noticed something interesting while I was working in the yard. The sun was beating down on me as I tried to dig into rock to plant a few flowers. It was taking me 5x longer per plant than it normally would. So I yelled out to my daughter, who was aimlessly walking around, “Can you grab me a water”. She gave me the complaining look that all parents face way more times than their patience can tolerate. She didn’t want to do it. When tone of my second request changed, so did her actions. But not her attitude. I was able to get what I wanted, but only partially.

When she brought me the water, she also had an extra one. My guess is that she was smart enough to not want to be asked again. If she would have only thought to put it in a cooler on ice… Or maybe it was a peace offering. I am not sure. And she is like a safe deposit box of information, unless it’s about something her sister did wrong.

Anyway, when she came back I casually said thanks for the water and told her how important it was that she gave it to me. She shrugged it off. I wanted her to understand how important it is that the people doing the work know that help is available when needed and that we all play a part in getting the project done. She simply let me know that she wanted a different job to do. So we talked a bit more about how even something as simple as keeping the worker (me) hydrated went a long way towards getting the project done better. Just as I was about to explain something long winded to her, other duty called. She was saved by the needs of her little sister. Being sent to find out why her sister crying seems to be a guilty pleasure of hers.

So she raced up the stairs only to appear at the window a few seconds later letting her mother and I know what the little one had done wrong. She really enjoys this job. I believe she actually does certain things to create more of this type of work for herself. This fascinates me. People have great endurance when in pursuit of something they love. Whether work for months to save up for that special trip, or the conversation they will endure for a meal with the aunt who is a great cook but doesn’t rest her complaining voice, or even yes, the stress of listening to their little sister cry just so they could tell on her.

Have a great week!