Hiring Family!

It seemed so simple really.  For our son we did things the same way they were done to for us--you go to college, you get a job.

As I always say when I speak--our son could have been raised by wolves and would have done well on the SATs.  He's a born student.

Our daughter, on the other hand, was born for life after school.  If you give her a problem, she can come up with 3 solutions--all good.  If you give her a test, or even say the words test, midterm or final; her brain falls out and she'll pick it up on her way out of the room.  I have Facebook friends who have taught her in college who can verify this.  She couldn't handle the hours that would be required of a job AND maintain her 4.0.  She spends a good amount of time on her classes and never misses an extra credit assignment.  She's good like that!

So, I thought it would be brilliant to expect her to help around the house more.  I had a LIST of chores that I wanted help with.  I hate to paint and repair things, she excels at it.

Over time though, I noticed she had time for her downtime, but kept forgetting my list.  It just wasn't important to her.  Since our deal was now defunct, I told her it was time for her to get a job.

Remember what I told you about her problem solving skills?  She put them to good use that day!  We negotiated a deal where she now pays for all of her school materials, and I pay her minimum wage for doing my chore list (remember that we were paying for her books anyway).  She figured out how many hours she needed to work each week to pay for her fall books (8).  If she works over that, she's ahead for next semester.

So far the bathroom walls have been repaired and are half painted.  The shower head has been replaced.  The kitchen cabinets have been checked for expired foods.  The lawn is mowed, edged and halfway weeded (rain affected that chore).  And the list continues....

Now the only trick will be to figure out how to make her wedding vows be to "love, honor and cherish...sickness and health...yada, yada...and always live next door to her parents".

Feeling blessed, how about you?

Brother can you save a life?

She was cowering in the corner of her cage.  We didn’t know it at the time, but she had just been put out on the adoption floor.  She had been in the intake area for 2 days because they weren’t sure she was “adoptable”.  In animal shelter lingo, that would mean the end of the road.  That morning she had been to an obedience class.  It was a test.  She passed, which was a miracle, because she is dog-aggressive.

It’s really not her fault.  For a herd dog to be sent to a shelter is the ultimate failure.  You not only lost the herd, you lost the farm.  In addition, she had been abused in a previous home and was very hand shy.  She still can’t handle loud voices.

We are either her 3^rd or 4^th home.  We are her forever home.  She needs to be an only dog. We accept that.  She needs to be needed (herd dogs do).  We let her lead us, even though she has no idea where we’re going till we get there.  She needs to have things happen in the same order every day.  She checks the front yard first, has breakfast and then checks the back yard.  That’s her job.  We accept that.

 

She has been with us for 12 years now.  She was supposedly 3 when we got her.  She doesn’t see as well  any more.  If you hand feed her, make your hand a plate. No big deal. She is very hard of hearing.  You have to be in front of her, so that you can get her attention.  No big deal.  As she ages, she becomes more expensive medically.  Nothing works as well as it did when she was younger.  We’re dealing with senility, gastric issues and joint pain.  It requires a lot of medication, but she is happy; so it’s no big deal. We accepted this expense when we brought her home.

Everyday I see posts for sweet little dogs who need a forever home…or a foster family.  I can’t be that person right now.  It wouldn’t be fair to the beautiful girl that we made a part of our family in 2001.  We were in the right place at the right time for her (and the 2 before her).  Imagine  if she’d had to go through one more obedience class and hadn’t done as well.  Or if she had been adopted by a man who wasn’t willing to spend 3 years building her trust.  And what we would have missed without her in our lives—she is sweet and empathetic and always there to boost your spirits after a tough day.  We are her herd and we need her!

So pay attention to those sweet little dogs and cats and even horses.  Do not miss out on the opportunity to save a life.  Foster if you can.  Being in a home is much better than a cage. Adoption is even better.  Do not miss out on the opportunity to save a life.  You will be paid back many times over.