I Have to Go to Work!
02.22.12
In our Raising Entrepreneurs conference, one of our topics is building a work ethic in children while they are young. With Timothy for some reason this has been unusually effortless. He says so many times every day, “I have to go to work!” or “I have work to do!” Whatever we are doing, he wants to be doing it too. Whether donning an apron and sawing away at a couple carrots with his child safety knife, or spreading free mulch with the big kids, he wants to WORK! And it has to be “REAL WORK” too! One of the cutest things is when Dave is going on a trip, Timothy talks for days about how he is going on a trip for work too, (usually to India or some place far, far away!) Until recently, this was always just talk (determined and resolute, but just talk nonetheless.) Well, yesterday we were all busy helping Dave and David get everything together they needed to depart for Verity Institute today to speak to the students on business and selling, etc., when my Mother said, “Timmy is packing!” We kind of ignored him for a while in our busyness. We noticed him digging through wash baskets of unfolded clothes, and coming in from the garage with his rubber boots, etc. but we were too busy to really get the full picture of what was going on. Finally, after about an hour and a half, we were ready to head upstairs and wind down for the evening, when Timothy came lumbering down the hall with a BIG suitcase! Can’t you just see him staggering under the size and weight of it? He was so cute in his determination. As I intercepted him just outside his room this is what I saw:
He had taken his whole bed apart, gotten his sleeping bag and bedding folded up, picked out and neatly folded some clothes and filled his little backpack with important work “stuff.” He even got his shoes and put a pair of socks in each shoe. He had also changed into his church pants, a polo shirt, and church shoes (he knows business men need to look professional!) I tried to tell him he could not go with Daddy and David, but he ignored me and proceeded to lay the suitcase down unzip it and stuff his sleeping bag in the outer compartment. I called out to Dave, “Uh Dave…I think you better come here and see this…I think Timmy needs a little Daddy time with some instruction and comfort.” Dave came around the corner and I could see his heart melt as he realized his little son wanted to “go to work” with him and “be a man.” They had a special father son time in the rocking chair in our room. Dave praised him for his desire to be a man and do meaningful work. He complimented him on his great packing, his care in folding everything so neatly, and not forgetting anything important. He told him Daddy needed him here at home helping Mommy and the others. Timothy was disappointed but not heart broken. He took comfort in the future hope of packing for our trip to the ATI conference in Nashville. The next task was to convince him that it was OK to remake his bed and put away his things because the Nashville conference is months away 
