Most of my family live fairly close to my mother, so you can find them gathered just about every Sunday for lunch around one of the tables at Mom's.
When someone in the family needs help and if you are near and able, you help out. It has always been like that. Thanksgiving was known as the "wood gathering" time. We'd all help Dad cut and bring in a load or two before the meal. This would be considered a chore if you were still living under his roof, but none of were at the time. When my parents re-sided their house, the family all came together and helped out. It's what my family does.
So, when we come to visit it is no different for us. One summer my husband helped take shingles off a roof to help my brother. Another summer we helped my parents re-panel a closet. Another summer we helped build my brother-in-law's large indoor arena. We grab hammers, pitch forks, or the spatula(help prepare the meals) and work alongside my siblings.
This summer was no different. My husband and son helped another brother-in-law build fence AND we all helped tear down a house. Yes, a whole house. Below are some photos of that summer project. I think we got it down in a few days. Guess it doesn't take too long when you have quite a few hands helping out.
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| The house after my brother knocked it down. |
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| A crew at work. |
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| After the house was gone, the girls had their own "work". |
I love my family and the fact that we help each other out like this. It helps save them some money and bonds us together ~ and it helped us get over jet lag pretty quick since this was during our first weekend.
What do you do as a family together? Any fond memories of helping each other out? Please comment below.
