He easily did 95-98% of the work by himself. Just enough instruction to get him started, then he took over. At ten years old, I'd say he did a fantastic job. Heck, I've seen professional painters that didn't have as nice of results.
I did appreciate your comments about the parenting that Lisa and I have provided, but I've got to be honest, I was a bit blown away by it too. I really did not intend for that post to be a "look what great shining examples of parents we are". It, like this one, are and were meant to display how proud I am of my son. Anyway, thanks for the kind words. I'll tuck them away for the teenage years when they come. (If anyone has a time machine to skip over those hormonal years, please send it my way!)
Here are a few pics. This first one is Anthony starting the staining process.
The next two are a before and after shot. What a difference eh?
The Darth Vader Costume is on order!Be back tomorrow with another "What is It?" ...Haven't done one of those for a while.
Later
37 comments:
You and your wife are great parents. You are instilling in your kids the need to work for things one wants. I applaud you both. This is downright awesome. Thanks for such an uplifting post. :)
Lanny- I think you might have misunderstood my words. I'm not uncomfortable with receiving words of encouragement at all. Quite the contrary, I just want to be sure that my ego stays in check. It's easy to hear nice words spoken and let them go to our head. What I was trying to say was, "Thanks for the compliments, but I wasn't writing to try to obtain them."
As for humor...God,(who I do believe in) did make the kangaroo and gave men nipples, so I'd say He has a pretty good sense of humor.
I do appreciate your words though, so please don't take this rebuttal the wrong way.
Sandee- It was a pleasure to share this with you.
OH MY GOSH.....what a difference!
Job well done!
On the steps--and with the kiddo.
Thinkin' ya both done good.
YABBA, DABBA DOO...ANTHONY!
OK...can I just tell you how impressed I am with your work, here?
GREAT JOB!!!!
Now...if you should ever come to Philly, I need some work done on my baseboards...
....and I'll pay you in your costume for next year, ok?
HA!
Thanks so much for allowing us to see the results, Jeff!
This was GREAT, buddy!
Mel- That's definitely a win-win!
Ron- It was so cool to watch him tackle this. He did do an awesome job and the life lessons learned are priceless.
Nicely done, Anthony! Great job!
That is nice! He totally kicked butt on that project!
*snort* God gave men nipples... oh man. You are funny.
Enough eaves dropping.
SO impressed with your kid. He did an EXCELLENT job. Glad that you are honoring his hard work by letting him go to the Dark Side.
And I doubly respect him for the STAR WARS thing... I am, ahem, a fan.
Wow Jeff! He did a great job, but the coolest part of the whole project was the way he approached you with a solution *wink*
So .... he gets his genes from you?
Obviously, you are doing a great job parenting. And what an awesome job your son did on this project. I hope he feels as proud of himself as you feel about him. Bravos all around.
Songbird= I'll be sure to pass on the accolades to him.
Jay- He did indeed. I should put him on the payroll.
Jennifer- I think he used the force on this project!
Dana- Can you see me beaming all the way from over there?
David- He definitely picked up the analytical traits from me. The good looks he got from his mom.
Raven- He was pretty stoked about the whole thing. It was a good and rewarding experience for both of us.
Hey, wow, I'm sorry I really must have misspoken because I meant to compliment you on a job well done both you and your wife and your son. And to encourage you in your future parenting but my words must have been harsh to your ears (eyes), because encouragement ought not need a "rebuttal". So please accept my apologies for my unintended harshness, I'm not careful with my words, and I should be. I was obviously very careless with my words today. I'm sorry, truly I am.
Nice work!
Lanny- No harm, no foul. I wasn't upset by your first comment at all. In fact I'm surprised you deleted it.
This is one of the classic frustrations of written words without the voice inflection or body language to help interpret them. You said one thing, I understood another, so forth and so on.
You were right that not all teens go through the "little turd" stage too. I was just making light of a situation that is more common than not.
Thanks for the response even though an apology wasn't necessary. I'm a firm believer in the first amendment, so feel free to leave comments as you wish. Your opinions and thoughts are valuable and I appreciate them.
Buffalo- The kid done good.
He did a fantastic job! If I didn't live so far away and I need a back porch sanding and staining I'd be hiring him!
Great job...and a great example of allowing a child to earn what they want.
I wish I had done more of this then I did with Matt.
ANTHONY---GREAT JOB
Bravo! Anthony did a fantastic job! He really is a good and hard worker.
Wow! He did a really great job!
I love how the sun is accenting the gleam of the stain :)
Good job Anthony, you're gonna be a great Vadar.
What a difference! He's done a cracking job. And it IS a testament to you as parents as well as to him as a growing a responsible young lad. I can see why you are proud.
The teenage years hurt, but they are a building time too. You'll have good memories from there too.
Your son did a nice job. He must feel really good to have accomplished this. :)
Akelamalu- Tell you what, you pay for the plane ticket and we'll make you a deal you can't refuse!
Bond- From what I've heard, you did a great job with Matt. No matter how much we do, I think we'll always look back and find those type of "wish we would have..." moments.
Jules- He's got a lot of stick-to-it-ness too.
Dianne- He's going to enjoy the costume all the more knowing how he obtained it.
Crazycath- I'm sure this independence he's showing now will prove to be interesting during the teen years, but I'm confident we'll all make it just fine.
Crystalchick- He got to show his uncle Mark what he'd done and was pretty excited to explain all the details.
Wow, he did a great job! I'd like to borrow him next summer!;)
it seems he comes by it naturally!
I hope Anthony will pose in his costume for dad's weblog buddies!
I have a 1/2 finished deck. COME ON OVER! I'll buy the beer. ( and kool aide....)
Hire him...he does better work than either you or Eore.
Real Live Lesbian- With every bodies responses, I think we might have to take this show on the road next spring!
Katherine- I'm sure he will be all too happy to oblige.
Vodka Mom- OK, so who gets the beer and who gets the koolaide?
Gene- Have I told you what a scumbag you are lately?
jeffy: I dont talk shit about you because of my friend the buffalo...
sincerely,
dorkyboy
Doggyblogy- That may be, but leaving someone a dozen or so comments in an attempt to stir the pot just seemed a bit excessive to me. Hence my remark.
Please pass this on...
Well done young man!
He did a fantastic job!
Jeff, the compliments and praise are honest and deserved. Parents are always blamed when kids go wrong so they also should be told when they do right. Yes, you definitely should treasure those words when puberty kicks in. I kept reminding myself of the kind words about my son when he was between 13-17. They definitely kept me from killing him many times. It's during those years that your ego and sanity will leave you. :D
that wasnt your first time mister jeffy.....nor was it mine, your little buddy the rug matt seems to think its ok for a 54 year old man to have a hidden camera and photograph underage girls butts....let me go back to that post and see if you agreed with him or not....
Travis- I'll be sure to do that.
Nitebyrd- I do hope those years pass without too many challenges.
Doggybloggy- Whatever dude
Anthony did a great job! I hope we get to see a picture of him in his new costume when it arrives!
Wow, what a great job Anthony did on the steps. How proud he must feel of his accomplishment. :-) I am sure as parents, you are pretty proud of him also! Such a good example of a job well done in his formative years. He is definately showing obvious signs of walking in your footsteps!
Bravo Anthony! You earned your Vader costume quite honorably!
I am proud of you also! :-)
Post a Comment