Special dates with Daddy

Wednesdays were my days off.  The 2nd graders had a field trip to the bowling alley, so Scott and I took the Lexus.  They got popcorn, pizza, and soda and were pretty stoked about that.  Scott got 2nd place with 115 and he was proud.  

Tyler wanted a special date, so I picked him up from school in the car and we went to McDonald's for a sundae.

Yesterday was a busy day.  Scott and Tyler had a swim meet in Pleasant Hill and I saw patients until the early afternoon.  I drove to the meet, only to find Heidi loading up the kids in the van.  Scott and Tyler had a birthday party in the afternoon so they came with me and Heidi took Kira and Blake home.

The birthday party was lots of fun because the the kids had water cannons and just ran around the yard while I relaxed with the other parents.   Heidi had promised the boys slurpees from the swim meet and I told them that if they were good at the birthday party, I'd get them the biggest size of slurpee.

We went to AM/PM and got them 42 oz. slurpees and headed home.  Heidi was cleaning out the van, and I was glad, because it was filthy.  It's been smelling bad because of rotten food in there.  Scott wanted to work for hire, so I told him he could sweep the garage floor.  If he did a good job he'd get a dollar, and 25 cents for a shabby job.

I wanted him to learn how to self evaluate and work toward a goal, and maybe he's too young for that because he kept asking me, "Am I done?"  I'd point out things that needed attention, and finally, he asked me to inspect his work.  He had swept up a big pile but left it on the floor, so I paid him the amount I felt was appropriate and we discussed his work.  I think he was looking for a quick buck and got burned out when he had to put in a real effort.  

Then he wanted to wash the van.  I told him if he washed the whole van that he'd get a dollar.  He and Tyler started washing it, and Scott said, "How about three dollars?  And another dollar if I wash the wheels?"

"The price we agreed on was a dollar."  He thought that was weak and complained to Mommy, who said, "That's pretty good, because it'll probably take you 15 minutes and that's four dollars an hour."

They soaped, rinsed, and dried the van and I gave them each a dollar.  Then Scott was dancing around the room because he had accumulated six dollars.  I'm glad he's motivated by money because at some point, he has to realize that he's going to spend much of his life working.  I remember cleaning the equipment at Dad's dental office and thinking, "If I work for twelve hours, I'll have enough for a hovercraft."