11/30/2025
As I just finished shoveling the driveway, I realized one of the things I will miss most as an empty nester - having my teens get up at 5 am to shovel the driveway! Early in my parenting, I realized that if I was doing a chore, and the kids were not, there was something wrong. Shoveling has a lot of benefits for kids. It is great exercise, it is time outside with family, and it can occasionally even be fun. It also teaches them important lessons. We made it very clear to our kids that our ability to leave the house in the morning in deep snow enabled us to go to work, which resulted in our ability to help sick kids and to pay for our mortgage, food, and entertainment. Our kids understood that it was a part of being a family, and not something to complain about, and looking back, I am really proud of their attitudes, especially at 5 AM. We also used it as an opportunity for them to understand the value of helping others, including pregnant and elderly neighbors without being financially rewarded. I sound like the old dude that I am when I say, kids these days have too many things done for them, but they do. Give them a gift this year that can help shape their futures - a shovel and some quality time with their parents at 5 AM :)
