Nathan and Ryan had a “job” over the holidays watching the neighbor Tom’s\u00a0two cats and taking care of the plants.\u00a0 They’ve done this job before, apparently well enough to get asked back.\u00a0 Actually, they take the job seriously.\u00a0 I know, because the rubber tree plants gave them quite a scare.<\/p>\n
About two weeks into the three week\u00a0stint, Nathan and Ryan came back from Tom’s house looking a little worried.\u00a0 It had been unusually cold in our little town of Rocklin.\u00a0 So much so that it actually snowed.\u00a0 Enough for Ryan to run out that white morning and make a decent snowman.<\/p>\n
Two days before the snow, however, the boys ran over to Tom’s to cover the plants.\u00a0 Part of the job description included checking the weather forecast for temperature drops.\u00a0 They were instructed to cover a section of the garden with plastic if it dropped below freezing.\u00a0 I was proud that I didn’t have to remind them to do this; teaching kids how to be responsible is often difficult and, as a parent, you may not know if they’re learning this life skill until you see them running over to the neighbor’s house to cover the plants.<\/p>\n
This particular day, the boys returned from feeding the cats and checking on the plants with definite concern in their eyes.\u00a0 The rubber trees in Tom’s back yard were looking pretty “brown and droopy”.\u00a0 Tom had asked that they water the trees every four days unless it rained.\u00a0 Well it had rained so the boys figured the trees were fine.\u00a0 Until they saw them that morning.<\/p>\n
“You did what he asked you to do,”\u00a0 I told the boys.\u00a0 “We’ll just have to wait and see.”<\/p>\n
“Yes, but we don’t want Tom to think we’re not responsible because their trees died,”\u00a0 Nathan said.<\/p>\n
It’s nice to see that kids actually care about things like whether or not the neighbor’s trees die…on their watch.\u00a0 That’s what I love about having kids do small “jobs” such as this.\u00a0 Jobs that don’t involve mom or dad, where someone else is boss.\u00a0 And it’s been my experience that kids really like the responsibility.\u00a0 They like knowing that someone trusts them to do the job and do it well.\u00a0 Money aside, the confidence-building alone is worth it.<\/p>\n
And the rubber trees?\u00a0 Turns out each winter they turn brown and droopy.\u00a0 They perk up in the spring. \u00a0Who knew?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Nathan and Ryan had a “job” over the holidays watching the neighbor Tom’s\u00a0two cats and taking care of the plants.\u00a0 They’ve done this job before, apparently well enough to get asked back.\u00a0 Actually, they take the job seriously.\u00a0 I know, because the rubber tree plants gave them quite a scare. About two weeks into the three week\u00a0stint, Nathan and Ryan came back from Tom’s house looking a little worried.\u00a0 It had been unusually cold in our little town of Rocklin.\u00a0…<\/p>\n