One Couple's Stumblings Through Parenthood and Marriage

Friday, September 29, 2006

Girls Grooming Goats

San Francisco society has become so permissive that they have even let up on child labor laws. We were thrilled that we were able to enter our girls into the work force, so they could finally earn their keep and learn a thing or two about work ethic and sweat.

Annie and I figured that for their first job they might enjoy working in a barnyard. In this photo we introduced them to one of their many wards, a Dwarf Nubian Goat (such a bigoted name!). The three of them took a few minutes to get a feel for one another. In the end, the girls decided he was cute, and the goat decided that the twins didn't pose much of a threat.

Genna got her hands on one of the brushes and got to work at grooming the goats. This blonde one seemed to enjoy the attention and the presence of an energetic child that kept the flies at bay. I didn't much appreciate the close proximity of those horns.

Kate, too, put her pink-bristled brush to work. She found a different goat to ply her trade at. This particular animal was groomed by two children at once. Such luxury. I was concerned that Kate might be docked some pay because of it - worker productivity is carefully measured.

For my part, after taking these photos I moved on to Human Resources to file the W-9s for the twins and to get their direct deposit set up. What a real hassle. But, these are the sacrifices we make as parents. Our kids come first.

2 comments:

Chelsa said...

Were you unable to find gainful employment for Julia, too? Or is she still working on tractor driving/tortoise wrangling?

Raging Wombat said...

(hers is coming next. stay tuned ...)

The tortoise wrangling was short lived. Their low activity level bored Julia.