In today’s mail was a little card that said “Odd Jobs” on the top of it. It looked kind of like a business card, only a little bigger. It has the name of a 9 or 10 year old kid in our area, with his address and phone number. Then in small print it says, “I made a series of mistakes and need to make up for them. If you have any odd jobs, please call me.”
I don’t know what to think of it. Part of me wants to call up his mom and ask what his mistakes were and how much he needs to earn. I guess I could have him shovel some snow or something. I wonder if it was his idea, or if his mom is making him do all this to make up for something stupid.
Just wondering.
Hmmmm, interesting concept! Let us know what you find out!
That must’ve been one big mistake for him to get out in the cold like that!
Oh my gosh, that’s funny! I would so call!
I LOVE this. Finally parents making kids take responsiblity for their actions. Hard to believe in the Paris Hilton culture we live in.
OK, I talked to the mom today and tried to casually ask what he had done. And I stand corrected…it wasn’t the 10 year old boy, it was the 14 year old boy, and he a-lost his new glasses that cost $200, and then b-broke his mom’s industrial blender, and didn’t seem to care about either. She said he just expected her to buy him new glasses, and he didn’t even really look for them at school. The mom said she blames herself because she’s bailed him out a couple of times in the past, and this time, told him he’d have to come up with the money to buy new glasses himself.
After delivering a bunch of these little cards, he was starting to feel really humbled, she told me. But he hasn’t had any offers of work yet, so maybe I’ll have to find something really yucky that I don’t want to do and ask him to do it for me.
I just thought you might like an update on this.