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I can relate. Especially the pointless drama. I remember dreading yard work, especially having to pick weeds. It felt so pointless and arbitrary -- a real chore

I can relate. Especially the pointless drama. I remember dreading yard work, especially having to pick weeds. It felt so pointless and arbitrary -- a real chore. Years later I was listening to an interview on the radio with a famous naturalist or environmentalist or something. He said his parents wouldn't let him pick a weed if he couldn't identify it. Damn, I thought. That's brilliant. That's the kind of parents I wish I had.

iamdave 8y ago
Hear hear. I grew up in one of those "children are meant to be seen, not heard" households, so attempts to be helpful and part of things was always rebuffed with "no you'll just getting in the way and break something". Made resentment of being given chores arbitrarily that much more intense, because why would I want to help now? Of course, being older now with my own home I work hard to keep things tidy as a point of pride, no kids but if they ever come along I'm going to make sure if they want to help out that they feel involved and maybe learn something in the process-the kind of parents I wish I had.