Building Big Muscles Isn’t Everything

My two oldest boys have been training hard for their upcoming high school soccer season.  With morning weights, afternoon runs, and evening practices, their downtime is priceless. 

That said, by owning so much of our family’s schedule they understand that sometimes they’ll have to work when they would rather be kicking back. 

Without too much fuss, they help mow the grass, do their own laundry, and, on occasion, help with the cleaning.

However, the mere mention of wood always makes them groan.  Unfortunately, since a wood burning stove is our primary source of heat during the winter, we have to stockpile firewood whenever we can. 

Anytime we find free firewood, we try to take advantage of it.  Even if the timing stinks.  

Case in point…

Last Thursday, on my way over to get the boys from their evening practice, this scene caught my eye just down the street from the high school.  I know.  Can’t you just hear them groaning and protesting?It was a big old maple tree, cut up and laying right next to the road with a little white sign that said FREE WOOD.

I knew it was lousy timing and the boys were exhausted.  But we needed the wood and it would surely be gone if we waited till morning. 

So I told them they didn’t have to help.  I would run them home and change my clothes.  And their dad and I would take the van back over and load as much as we could.

And you know what?

They changed their clothes, grabbed a drink, and piled into the van with us.

There was still a fair amount of moaning and groaning.  And one of them might have called my nuts.  And I seriously couldn’t blame them.  Especially since our muscles ached from loading some huge hickory logs the night before. 

But they helped.  And I was really proud of them. 

Over the last two months, they’ve worked hard to build muscle and endurance.  But loading that wood was building something far more impressive to me.   

Character.

Their help may or may not have been prompted by a little guilt. :)

But I was proud of the young men they are becoming just the same.