Responsibilities…
Money Comes From? Today, we can say, it comes from good planning, stocks, crypto, and business of course. Back then all we knew was hard work. Work hard, get money. Work hard, work smart, and get more money. As we grew, so did the business.
Yes, I had a hole in my shoe and waited till the next paycheck to get new ones.
Oh yeah, rarely known fact in our circles because people can see what you have and not where you come from. We helped cut the grass and take out the garbage, and yes both my brother and I have all our fingers and toes. I don’t see many 11-year-old kids mowing the lawn now, do I?
Learning Responsibility.
A well-kept house, taking out the garbage, and washing the car all sort of became our responsibility. We helped to build a deck and a patio, so yes, I know how. We stripped the paint off the deck and repainted it. We used a drill and a spinning wire brush to strip the paint and used a sander to prep the surface. We were able to paint and deck and we learned valuable skills along the way. What kid does that these days? Maybe ones that live on farms and ones who see their parents’ hands on.
What we didn’t know at the time was, we were not only learning how to do things but how to work together. We learned this as my brother and I played sports as well. More and more teamwork and more and more responsibility also equaled a hard day’s work and a paycheck. Not many kids know how to do any of that shit these days. In many ways it’s sad and in many ways, I am happy that they don’t. Mixed feelings about this.
Further Growth
As we grew up, the business grew. We moved from Toronto to Caledon. At this point, my parents were still working full time and working on the business after work until midnight most nights.
Eat, sleep, work, eat, sleep, work some more.
The orders came, the business grew, we took on flyer routes and delivered newspapers as well as continued our regular activities. At this point, we were better off but this is where high school hit us hard as kids.
We never felt like the other kids and for me, the sports, work, and being responsible took over, I think. For one we never had much time to goof around. Yes, we did get to go out on Friday nights, and Saturday nights but we always knew work was waiting at home. Mom and Dad could always use a hand. Something could be done, some things had to be done and others must be done. Work equaled money, money equaled a better life.
