Farm Chores

Paul and Amy have had many serious discussions about how to instill a strong work ethic in little James. What with all the conveniences of our leisurely modern lifestyle, we're worried that our children won't ever learn how to put their shoulders to the wheel and their noses to the grindstone. Our discussions have often come back to the idea that farm chores may be the best way to teach kids about hard work. That means we'll either have to ship James off to a dairy farm in Idaho or we'll have to move to a farm ourselves. Both options have major drawbacks. A third option presented itself on a recent trip to the San Francisco Zoo: Amy and James discovered the farm section of the zoo. Amy dutifully assigned James a heap of manual labor, sternly explaining that all the sheep better be brushed, watered, and fed by sundown. Unfortunately, James thought it was all fun and games. He had a fabulous time chasing the sheep around the pen, until one bleated right next to his ear and scared him silly. Guess we'll keep brainstorming about that work ethic thing.