On days like today our family business definitely is TEAM-work.  Sharing what we do with our kids has been such a blessing for them to take part in building a successful business that supports us as a family.  In our current time with COVID and keeping your “personal contact to a minimum” finding childcare when we have big jobs scheduled can often be a challenge.  So the solution?  Bring the kids with us to the job site. Our customers have been full of grace and understanding when we have the kids tag along and it has been fun for some to meet the actual person that their planter style was named after too. 

I remember loving going to work with my Dad as a child and watching him LOVE what he was doing.  He was always hard working, meticulous with every detail and made the job fun.  He would blast “oldies but goodies” on the radio and sing off key on the top of his lungs.  I was assigned “very important” jobs to do like picking up the scrap wood and putting it into a bucket, sweeping or helping hand him nails.  I loved the time with Dad and the days I got to spend with him.  In high school this relationship and special times transitioned to coaching sessions at the throwing ring.  I learned work ethic and the power of LOVING what you do to make work a passionate and fulfilling component of your life.  Learning by watching him DO the work and LOVING it helped me to develop the Love of the grind, or loving the process before the result.  By loving the grind and embracing it totally the results and success fall into place.  He and I would work endless hours after practice or on weekends to perfect discus, shot put or javelin technique.  This ultimately paid off as when I signed my scholarship letter, broke records and helped my talented teams win championships.  In the days beyond high school this love and passion for hard work brought success at the college level, academically and in the professional track world post college.  The work ethic I learned as a child has carried me and shaped me to my core.  

My college coach told me that I wasn’t “the most talented athlete (gee thanks coach!) but I LOVED the grind” and that was why I surpassed my more talented or physically able competitors.  I hope that my kids can find JOY and come to love the “grind” as I KNOW this life lesson is one that is invaluable.  Hard work, persistence and the desire to work harder than anyone else does to find success will ultimately pay off with huge rewards and relationships.  So at the challenge now?  Make these special times with my kids good memories for THEM and help them see first hand the beauty that lies within the grind.  Give my kids  work dance parties and fun family adventures connected to each job they attend.  Let’s give three cheers to the GRIND, hard work, family and the success that follows that journey.

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