Sunday, June 10, 2012

WORKING IT TOGETHER


As I get older, TLW (The Little Woman) puts restrictions on me. I am not allowed on the roof anymore, so she recruits #2 Son to do the climbing on the ladder and whatever needs to be done up there. This leaves me a little leery since I can’t see if he is doing it right or not.

Working with #2 is usually a double edge sword in that we do it once his way, then my way.

We set the ladder against the wall and he is about to climb.

“Take a garbage bag up there with you.” Say I.

He takes the bag and starts to stuff it in his back pocket.

“Maybe you should open it up first.” Say I.

“Nah” Say he.

Up he goes to the top and starts to fuss with the bag. After a few desperate moments, comes back down. He slowly undoes the plastic bag to open it, not looking at me and back up he goes.

“Make sure you are holding the ladder!” Says he.

The joys of working with your son: He won’t listen to experience, but can comment on a hunch, and no less give me orders about it!

I remember Dad, he gave orders and you listened, if you didn’t he rode you off into the sunset, and you heard about it for days and maybe even weeks. Make a mistake and he was all over you.

When I was in college, and working with him, he decided to take a week off. He left me in charge, and went away on his vacation. Here I was, a college kid, bossing around a crew of shipping room clerks and truck drivers! All I thought was, what would Dad do? When he came back, he got me aside and said: “What did you do, try to take my job away?” I looked shocked and then he said: I just spoke to the old man, he said it was like I never left!”

Not good job, he never said that ever. It was expected, and besides, who wants to get ridden out of town by their own father.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Confession time: When I was a teenager and had to do jobs like sweep the garage, rake the leaves, etc, you would often step in and say, "You're doing it wrong" and then proceed to show me how to do it.

Eventually, I got tired of hearing this -- but rather than get mad and yell, I decided to embrace it and use it to my advantage instead. So, when you gave me a job like sweeping the garage or shoveling the driveway, I would purposely start off doing it slowly and lazily, knowing that you would tell me I was "doing it wrong" and then you would step in and show me how to do it right. And sometimes I would pretend that I still didn't quite understand so that you would show me some more about how to do it right. And eventually I could get you to do almost half the job yourself that way! It worked like a charm until it came time to clean the gutters because you wouldn't go up there. Man, I was a rotten kid! Seriously! I'm sorry!

Does confessing on DelBloggolo count as going to confession to a Priest? How many Hail Marys should I say?

-#1 Son

Mary Ann said...

Sounds very much like grandpa Anthony! lol And you were not a "rotten kid." You were a very "smart" kid!

As for Michael...there is no mention in this blog whether or not he did it "right" after he went back up there!