Work Ethic

In the Tree House: Work Ethic

By: Samantha Stroube Daviss

Well the time has come as a mother that I must start instilling a genuine hard-working attitude into my oldest son. This has been one of my more difficult challenges to date as a mom. I realize some people have a stronger work ethic than others, and that doesn’t make them better people, it just makes them more of a “Type A” personality.

I guess I am one of those people. I love to stay busy with work, my boys, the house, everything. In fact at pretty much any given time, you can bet that I have at least two if not three jobs going. And right now I am working three jobs. I have my main job, and then two others that I am juggling. I don’t know why?

My parents did a great job instilling the value of a dollar into my head as a youngster, but even if they hadn’t I think I still would have turned out this way. My brother, who was raised the same way in the same environment as me, didn’t have this work ethic, at least as a teenager. He got better as he got older.

But there is just something about wanting to work and earn my own pay check and contribute to my family that I love. And it is a blessed thing that my generation has been given this opportunity to make the choice to stay home with the kids, or to work.

I was a stay at home mom in my late twenties after I had my first son, and I loved it. It was the best, hardest, and most rewarding job I ever had. But then after my divorce, I had to go back to work. And to be honest with you, I had forgotten how much I loved to work (outside the home). But even when I was a stay at home mom, I still conjured up some jobs to do from the house. I wrote resumes for people, I wrote a book, I even tried my hand at making tile-topped tables (which all ended up in my backyard).

So at some point in my life I have always been working. I always felt bad saying that I liked to work when I was a stay at home mom. I used to always call it using the “adult side” of my brain. I don’t know why I felt guilty for enjoying work. I never neglected my kids, and to this day I still don’t. They will always come first in my life. Work, projects, everything will be put on hold for my babies.

I am fortunate enough to have a career that molds around them though. They are my life and I want them to always understand and know that they will always come first. I will never miss an awards day, or picking them up from school if they are sick, or a field day at school.

But with this side of my personality, I am diligently working on my oldest (and soon my other two) to understand that there are no hand outs in life. Be proud of who you are and where you come from and show your dedication through your work.

I always felt that my generation was given an opportunity to go to college and be respected and treated as an equal to most men, so why not take advantage of this? I worked hard for my degree and I deserve a chance to utilize it. And that is all I want to instill into my kids, is to be proud, work hard, and understand that money definitely does not grow on trees. And one day they will be out on their own without mom and dad there to hold their hands.

Show the world what you are made of and be proud you have the means to work, and work hard.