Entrepreneurs

On Monday night we got about eight inches of snow.  On Tuesday the kids had their first ever Snow Day.  They've had snow days in Texas before that were really ice days, no snow but you can't get anywhere because it's too icy, but never a true snow day where there was actually snow on the ground and you're stuck at home.

Andy came into my room just after 7a while I was trying to enjoy the fact that I didn't have to get up for anything that morning and asked if he could shovel the driveway for $20.  I immediately said yes, because I didn't want to do it and Charlie was out of town.  I started thinking about it a little more and realized that when I was 12 years old, or now for that matter, my dad would have never given me money to shovel the driveway.  It was just expected, I was told to go out and shovel the driveway and I did.  I grumbled about it, but I did it.  But here's the thing.  Last year at the beginning of the winter when we had our first big snow a kid about Andy's age came to the door and asked if he could shovel our driveway for $20.  Again we did not want to do it so we happily gave that kid $20 to do it.  Andy was a little miffed and we decided that if we are willing to pay someone to do a job for us, why not keep it in the family and let him do it for the same amount?  I'm not sure that jives with the "contributing to the family" thing or whatever we are supposed to be teaching our kids these days, but I think things have changed from when we were kids.

Anyway, the snow was heavy and thick and the job wasn't as easy as he thought it would be.  They don't keep those kids home from school for just anything!  He got about 3-4 rows shoveled and then decided it was too much and came in.  That would have been it for him and I would have seen myself outside shoveling until Sarah decided that she wanted some money and she was going to do it.  Man that kid is growing on me.  So she got on all her gear and went out to shovel which made Andy go back out there which even got Amanda out there for a bit but I'm not sure if she made more of a mess or helped them.

In the end, my driveway did get shoveled and all the of the kids got some money.  A win-win for everybody.