Working in the Yard

I have these wonderful childhood memories of working in the yard side-by-side with my parents.  Weeding was never fun, but I remember having fun being outside together in the fresh air.

Now that I have a 4 year old, I realized this weekend that "working side-by-side" is really just a euphemism for parents working until they are exhausted while their children play nearby.  ;)

Mom: "Can you pick up that stick I dropped?"
Kid has one of three answers:

1. (silence) .... "Hey, its a rolly-polly bug!"
2. "Yeah sure, Mom." (five minutes later stick is still in the way)
3. "Yeah sure, Mom." "Hey Mom, look its a sword!" (swish, swish, swish)

What gave me the impression that I was actually useful in the yard below the age of 16?  That's when I realized I should let it go.  As long as he wasn't getting hurt, he could "help" nearby all he wanted.

And no child, you can't use the man-sized lopers.  And no, you can't use the small ones either.  No one is losing a finger today.