Yesterday was a day of setting up various items at work. We have new email addresses and had to configure our computers for Microsoft Teams. We had to learn about locks and security systems and learn codes for various devices. We took an in-depth tour of the building and found out where all of the storage closets are located. We set up a few more meetings and we met with other members of the staff team. There are a few things which are specific to this particular congregation, but for the most part things were pretty familiar. Of course, it will take us a few weeks to ease into this job and there are many more new things to learn, but it feels good to have gotten this much done in our first couple of days.

I was thinking about work and the process of learning to work a bit later in the day. After we finished up at the church office we stopped by our son and daughter-in-law’s farm to help care for the children so that their mother could do a bit of work. Our ten-year-old grandson had a big job that he was tackling. A short bit of background is in order. Somehow a pair of boots was lost. He had responsibility for them and no one in the family has a clue as to their location. A search has been made, but so far, no boots. The decision was made that he needs to earn the money for their replacement. There are plenty of jobs on the farm and the children are used to tackling jobs to earn extra money. The big job that was offered to our grandson was cleaning out one of the chicken coops. He already does some care for chickens, checking food and water for the hens and pullets, so cleaning out a coop that will receive the meat birds as they become pullets seemed like a good job. Mostly the job is shoveling used bedding into a cart and transporting it to an area where some new plants will be going in. The biggest cart on the farm is pulled by the lawn mower, so he had the extra bonus of being allowed to drive the mower a bit in the process.

I worked alongside him for a little while to make sure that he understood the task and I facilitated the moving of the mower and cart. I did the backing of the cart, as he doesn’t have much experience driving and the barn has close quarters.

It was interesting to me to watch him learning about a big job. At first there was plenty of enthusiasm. The first cart load was filled in a reasonable amount of time. He was being efficient and working hard. He was allowed to wear his headphones and listen to a podcast while he worked. After we dumped the first load he took a short break, which was reasonable. The second load took a bit longer. At this point about half of the material that needed to be removed was loaded. He said he was thirsty, so I suggested that he take a bit longer break and get a drink of water.

We had to leave before he got back to the job. I’m confident that he got the third cart load filled before dinner time. I suspect that the final clean-up and placing of the new bedding in the coop might wait until Saturday when his father will be home to assist.

The job was familiar to me because I had responsibility for cleaning chicken coops when I was a boy. I didn’t like the job. It was something that had to be done in order to have a freezer full of meat for the year, but there were other jobs I preferred. We had a different system when I was a boy. There were chores that each of us children had that were just a part of being in the family. Work around the house was not compensated in money. When we were old enough for jobs that paid, most of us did work at our father’s business before working for other employers. We learned that a good work ethic is important and that sticking with a job until it is completed is valued by employers.

I’ve always felt that learning to work was something that has been valuable all of my life. I worked at many different kinds of jobs before I finished school. A few, such as tipping garbage cans into the back of the collection truck, were even a bit less desirable than cleaning chicken coops. A few, such as repairing furniture for a church where I was the janitor, taught me new skills. One, staging carts of freshly baked bread for loading into trucks, resulted in a summer of smashed fingers and purple fingernails. Assembling farm machinery allowed me to earn a pretty good set of mechanic’s tools, quite a bit of skill, and some money in my pocket. I drove a wide variety of trucks and tractors and other machinery and learned to operate machines safely.

Our grandson will have different opportunities. Growing up on a farm will provide him with lots of chances to learn about work. I’m proud of his willingness to tackle tough jobs and his initiative at getting to work. He is just learning about the world of work and I don’t want him to lose his childhood and the opportunities for play. Still, having meaningful work is an important part of a joyful life, and I want him to discover work he enjoys and have a positive attitude towards work. Both of his parents are really good workers, so he has good examples in his life.

And if, as I suspect will be the case, he ends up thinking that cleaning chicken coops isn’t the most desirable of jobs, we will have that in common. One day he will have stories to tell of the jobs he has done, just like I do. I’m thinking they’ll be good stories.