I think he is getting it

If you have read my other posts, you will know that I am involved in scouting. My oldest son, a 14 year old Eagle Scout, will be camping with our troop this weekend. I elected to stay home and work on pinewood cars for the next two boys who are Cub Scouts.

In Boy Scouts, the boys prepare their own menu, buy their own food, cook, and clean up for themselves while camping. The planning process usually works like this:

• One boy develops a menu
• The rest of the patrol agrees on the menu
• One of the boys buys the needed supplies
• He then tells the rest of the boys how much they need to bring to cover their share
• He spends the next month trying to get his money :-)

This could be better, but it does have some teaching benefits.

My wife overheard my son on the phone discussing meals for this weekend. "Wow $14 that's kind of expensive isn't it? Well, maybe we can save some of the stuff for the next campout."

You see, he is on staff, and staff typically only has three boys at a campout. They choose to eat on their own rather than join another patrol; they can ensure the quality of their food that way. They are also pretty accomplished cooks, and enjoy cooking.

My son knows that you can eat well for a whole weekend for less than $10. He also knows that small groups can be more expensive since things rarely come in packages for three. Most important is that I know that he is learning the value of a dollar. He knows that $14 is high for a weekend of camping food. He is also thinking of ways to keep future costs down, by saving stuff for the next campout.

We have made a deliberate effort to teach our children about money; where it comes from and how to handle it. Hearing this makes me know that some of it is catching on. I'm proud of him.

Back to work

Today is my first day back at work after a long break for the holidays. I took a few days off before Christmas, and a few days after New Years Day. All of the days between Christmas and New Years Day are holidays where I work. So, I ended up being gone for 3 weeks!

Now I don't know that I am rested, but it was great to be off. The days before Christmas were hectic getting ready for the holiday, and preparing for a trip to the Florida Keys. Then there was the trip, 3 Adults, and 5 Boy Scouts at Florida Sea Base for a week. After returning, there was all of the stuff that I normally get done over the Holidays. Add to that some additional responsibilities for my new OA job, and I'm pretty well worn.

It's good to be back to a "normal" routine. I definitely need to get back to eating better. However, I will miss the time with my family. It's nice to just be there. I think when we as a society decided that working away from home was a necessary thing, we lost something. I know that I make more money this way, and that money enables my family to have the things that they "need" and lots of the things that they "want", but I still feel that there should be a better way.

For the most part, I like my job. Every job has it's ups and downs, but on the whole, I enjoy what I do, so until I find that better way, I'll keep my day job.