One of my youngest daughter’s favorite books is Duck for President by Doreen Cronin. It is an incredibly clever book that takes children through the ups and downs of having responsibilities. While I am the first to admit that the anthropomorphism of a Duck being President is a bit far-fetched, the silliness of the concept holds the attention of the young readers.
The book begins by talking about the hard work that it takes to run a farm. Duck is tired of doing chores and organizes an election to oust Farmer Brown from his “management” position on the farm with Duck taking his place.
Duck soon finds out that Farmer Brown’s job is actually harder than doing chores as an animal on the farm. So, he decides to leave the farm entirely and become a politician. After winning the election for Governor, Duck discovers that his new job also requires work and decides to move on and run for President. The cycle again repeats itself and Duck continues to abandon his responsibilities in search of “another job”…
I always shake my head when Karyn reads the book to me. Duck is lazy…Duck is searching for a job that does not require any work…Duck is selfish and is neither a team player nor a community builder.
She learns from the example that I set for her. I don’t want her to grow up to be like Duck—I want her to make a positive difference in the world using the talents with which she was blessed…
As a parent, teaching my children to be active contributors and to learn to work hard is at the top of my priority list. I believe that work ethic is a vital part of both personal and community success.
When you love what you do, it is second nature to give 110% of yourself each and every day…
As a cattle farmer, work ethic is what drives me. It is what gets me out of bed and to the feed yard by 6:00am every single day. It determines the success of my animal care—it determines the quality of the beef that my animals produce—it determines the sustainability of my farm.
I start each day with this—dawn at the feed yard is beautiful…
Work ethic is the core component of greatness. It is what allows an average person like me to manage a feed yard, raise three children, maintain a blog, and support my community in various volunteer positions. Of all of the things that I have continually developed as an adult, my work ethic is the one that I am most proud of.
It is what keeps me going when my body and my brain are so tired that I begin to doubt that I can do as many things tomorrow as I did today…
Teaching them how to be good animal caregivers is special–from it, they learn life skills such as empathy and responsibility…
It is in giving of ourselves that we receive.
As we move forward as a country over the next several months, I hope that everyone will give great thought to what their role is as an American. We are all different—different talents, different dreams, and different opinions. Combining those differences with a good work ethic and a desire to work together will ensure the prosperity that our country so rightly deserves.
Pride in our country—Pride in ourselves
We are not all meant to be farmers. We are not all meant to be President. But, we are all meant to be fellow countrymen—and with that carries both a privilege and a duty.
Anne, you are so right on this. Our country works in part because of our people–each contributing and each valuing the privilege and duty of being an American! Like you, I hope we all give great thought to this in the weeks and months ahead.
Thanks Aimee—it is always good to know that I am not a “voice in the wilderness” and that there are others who share my views. Our future is intrinsically tied to hard work and team work, and I hope that we can find a way to prosper and thrive as a community.
As always, thanks for reading–sharing–and commenting.
Anne
Good ob mommy!