Nathan and Ryan came home a little dejected. \u00a0They had spent three hours working for Tom and they didn’t get paid for the work. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Tom is our neighbor. \u00a0He’s retired and does a lot of stuff around his house. \u00a0The boys work for him from time to time and love it because Tom pays them $13\/hour. \u00a0But they have to earn it. \u00a0When they come home from a day at Tom’s, they sleep well that night.<\/p>\n
Last month Tom and his wife Margie skipped around Europe for two weeks. \u00a0Nathan and Ryan were tasked with feeding their cats while they were gone \u00a0in addition to a few other minor things like covering the patio furniture if it rained. \u00a0So when Tom returned from his trip he paid each boy $50. \u00a0Yowza. \u00a0The kids thought they hit pay dirt.<\/p>\n
But Tom mentioned, as he handed over their earnings, that there were some minor things the boys could do for him and then they’d be even. \u00a0So on Saturday, the boys went to Tom’s to finish up their “cat sitting”.<\/p>\n
Three grueling hours later, they returned sans any compensation. \u00a0“I knew Tom wanted us to do a little extra for the money he gave us feeding his cats, but I had no idea he would put us to work like that,” said Nathan. \u00a0“That’s a total of six hours of work we did for him.”<\/p>\n
I felt a lesson coming on. \u00a0“Tom’s been good to you. \u00a0\u00a0Sometimes we need to do a little extra without feeling like we must be compensated for it, as hard as that is to do. Even if that little extra turns out to be a big extra. \u00a0 It’s like\u00a0investment in your future. \u00a0You may not see it now, but the habit of extra effort will pay off in the long run.”<\/p>\n
“What do you mean?” he asked.<\/p>\n
\u00a0“When you least expect it, something good will happen that was a direct result of your extra effort. \u00a0Like the time your self-portrait was chosen to hang in the school office because you went above-and-beyond the assignment. \u00a0It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, it’s nice and can lead to other things. \u00a0The trick is not to expect something every time you put in the extra effort. \u00a0Put in the effort and one day it will pay off.”<\/p>\n
These life lessons are sometimes hard to teach kids. \u00a0It requires them to trust you because the results aren’t immediately apparent. \u00a0That’s why it’s important to look for opportunities to make connections for our kids.<\/p>\n
For example, the next time you see your children do a little extra, tell them that you’re proud of their work and the extra effort they put in. \u00a0And when they receive recognition for going above-and-beyond, make the connection between the effort and the “reward”. \u00a0Then when they come home from the neighbor’s house a little miffed that they didn’t get paid, remind them to be patient. \u00a0Investments take time to grow and much can come to those who are willing to wait.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nathan and Ryan came home a little dejected. \u00a0They had spent three hours working for Tom and they didn’t get paid for the work. \u00a0 Tom is our neighbor. \u00a0He’s retired and does a lot of stuff around his house. \u00a0The boys work for him from time to time and love it because Tom pays them $13\/hour. \u00a0But they have to earn it. \u00a0When they come home from a day at Tom’s, they sleep well that night. Last month Tom…<\/p>\n