Work Will Win

Whew! Tuesday and Wednesday are Dave's days off now, and both days we worked incredibly hard in our yard. Next week we want to go somewhere fun for a mini-vacation, so we thought we'd better get things taken care of now. We weeded massive sections of our garden, worked on both vehicles, put down ant killer in the yard, mowed the lawn and worked on our bridge, since it's always in need of help. As I write it down, it doesn't seem like we accomplished very much, but believe me, it was a lot. I am so proud of how everything looks and feel like I can rest easy for a few days, at least.

Jed had a lot of fun while we worked. He loves to be in the yard, especially with the shed door open so he can tinker around with all sorts of things that are usually off-limits. He helped Dave mow the lawn, helped me rake up the grass clippings, helped Dave with the bridge and discovered the joy of running through the sprinklers. He was totally soaked by the time we had the ant-killer watered in, but he loved it.

He also begged to help Dave apply said ant control. He loves the fertilizer spreader with a great passion, but he doesn't understand that you have to keep moving while you use it. Whenever Jed wants to do something that you are currently doing, he tells you "turns" in his sternest voice. I could hear him shouting "TURNNNNSSSS!" across the whole yard.

Here are Dave and Jed working on the bridge:

"Oh, hey Daddy, what are you doing?"

"This is how you pound a post!"

Jed is very good at quality control. He made sure any and all nails were well pounded.

Must've found another nail.

Fives for a job well done. I love this picture so very much.

Even though I'm still tired after our days of work, I love knowing that we accomplished something good. I know it's work that won't stay done--grass keeps growing, weeds will come back--but just the fact that we can get up each day, work hard together and take pride in our labor is something to celebrate. I am grateful for parents who taught us to work and maybe to like it. I remember being a very little girl, washing dishes with my dad and learning President Monson's statement that "Work Will Win While Wishy-Washy Wishing Won't." That lesson has stood me in good stead thus far in life and I know it will continue to do so. And while it isn't always easy to let Jed help us, I am so glad that he wants to take his turn already and I am trying to instill in him the fact that it feels good to work hard for something worthwhile.