Sifting

I've got some boys that need to earn some money for scout camp.  It is hard work keeping 12 year old boys motivated and on task. I have recently adopted the mantra of "you go to war with the army you have, not the one you wish you had." It comes in very useful when trying not to get upset from expectations not met. I actually find their ability to negotiate out of working hilarious. They work harder at looking for a way out than they do at actually working. Well, the getting mad approach doesn't work and it actually just ruins any chance of getting any work done. Also their idea of "clean" and mine are completely different. I laid out the expectation but there was always something wrong that wouldn't allow my expectation to be met. They were like goldilocks with their "that weed is too big, and that one is too small so we couldn't get those" excuses. 

I also found them playing more than working. I decided to go with it to save my sanity. I would allow 10 minute playing breaks after 20-30 minutes of work. It helped keep them going - especially in the hot sun. Besides they were completely adorable with their sword fights and dead animal funerals. Whenever I looked at them I just thought "that's what a 12 year old boys life is supposed to look like."

I needed the rocks in my front yard sifted. I did not own a sifter. I guess I need to build one. Thank goodness once again for the internet. Someone took the time to build one and post a step by step blog about it. So off to the home store to buy all my supplies - including an electric staple gun- I went. Now it may seem frivolous that I bought the staple gun specifically for this project. I assure you, it was not. I have upholstered many a project with my manual and acquired many blisters in the process and had to use a hammer to try and drive the staples all the way in. There was no way I was attempting this project with an manual. It was a necessary purchase- especially when I started using it and realized what an amazing invention it was! I wandered the isles looking for my specific size boards not knowing which type of wood to get because I couldn't find what the guy used. Who knows if the wood will hold up to the project, but I'm about results so I picked something and went with it. 

I brought all the supplies home and decided that I needed to make sure this was an experience for the boys. One that they were fully vested in and had a major part in. I'm usually pretty horrible about letting kids help and having the patience for it. It's so much easier to do it yourself and there is less of a risk of the project getting ruined. I decided that I didn't care. This isn't a project that could get that messed up. The only thing I didn't let them use was the circular saw. It was too risky. As it was, our little friend said "I didn't know girls could use those." I said "your lucky I'm not going to punch you in the face for that comment." haha He lives in a house with very traditional roles so he's never seen a girl do "boy" stuff. It was pretty funny. There were some screws that went in too far. One that came out the side and I had to reroute. The mesh screen ended up almost being too small on one corner because I let the boys -very carefully- cut it with the tin snips. But they were troopers and stuck it out with me in the blazing hot sun. 

They even tried it out right when we got it finished. They were certain they were going to find gold and be billionaires. Hey! Whatever encourages work! 

I'm so grateful for my Dad's example of patience and love. He says that "letting the kids help is reward in and of itself because you are building memories that will last a lifetime." He also says "patience is love." It's true. We weren't building a sifter. We were building memories....which produced a sifter....that the kids hope will yield some gold....and I hope will yield a clean front yard-eventually :)