Teach a man to fish

My boys are growing up and with that it is time for me to make sure that they are ready for the next steps in their lives.  I don't see Matthew or David being able to hold down a full time job and being able to be completely independent.  For Matthew, the mental stamina to work more than 3-4 hours a day seems to be his maximum.  For David, the right job, where he can organize and do the things he loves will be key to him functioning at a job, but even the right opportunity will likely mean that the stress of communication will limit him to a few hours per day.

My boys love to be busy and each have a passion it seems for lawn care and lawn mowing.  I have taken advantage of this passion and helped them, along with the support of their respite staff, to line up a variety of lawn care jobs.  On Sunday David mowed 2 lawns and Matthew mowed one lawn.  Together they earned over $70, but more importantly they had a sense of success, accomplishment and pride in the work that they did.  It was hot, and it would have been easier to be home relaxing, and doing their own thing, and yet both went off to their respective lawns with a sense of pride and excitement.

David loves having money in his pocket because he is saving towards purchasing his own lego sets.  He has pride when he buys the sets himself and loves to say, "look at my money", "I mow more, I need more money".  He looks in his wallet frequently and is so proud that it has money he earned himself.

Matthew is just at the point where he is consistently hanging out with 2 friends and like all good teenagers, they love to go out to eat.  Being able to have his own money means that Matthew can go out when he wants to and has cash to spend.  He would be more limited if I had to provide him with the money to do these things.

As I watched David mowing yesterday I kept having the same quote going through my head, "give a man a fish and he eats for a day.  Teach a man to fish and he is set for life."  I felt such pride as I watched him not only mow but mow with care and true attention to detail.  He is a hard, hard worker.  It was hot outside and it would have been easy to say, "one lawn is enough", but when he got a call for a second lawn the same day, he quickly jumped at the opportunity.

He mowed around obstacles, he mowed around trees, he knew where he had to go back to go over a spot he missed.  He was so rhythmic and methodical in his efforts.  He took care and pride in his work.  I knew that he loved caring for our lawn, but this was the first time I had taken him on a job to care for someone else's lawn. 

It was the first time that I was able to see that I have 2 boys, both teenagers, diagnosed with limited cognitive abilities, and who require a high level of support in school who are both able to have jobs that provide themselves with pocket money for now, but that as i look into the future there is a true opportunity for them to have a business.  This can easily turn into a job that with someone to oversee and help with scheduling, and managing the financial aspect of the business, that they could have a level of independence and a way to be functional, productive members of society. 

For a child to have a level of success, is beyond important.  My boys are not defined by their limitations, they are defined by their successes in life.  As they have gotten older this is becoming more and more true.

Bloom boys lawn business!  So great to have a last name that lends itself to advertising easily and describing a passion and interest my boys show such strength in.  Even if this does not continue to be something that they love, what I know for a fact is that my boys can be "taught to fish" and will be able to provide for themselves on some level in the future and THAT is the best descriptor of success I can imagine.