I slept in today till 6:30. The house is still quiet an hour later. If I let them, everyone will sleep till at least 9, with the tweeners sleeping even longer. That’s when you know they’re teenagers or going to be soon. They just love to sleep. When they get the chance, I let them, because they work pretty hard all week. Sam is so whipped from wrestling and cutting weight (arrgggh) that he has been going to bed at 9. That is weird for a teen.

Johnathan started work at Costco yesterday. He did a full shift: 11-7. I am very excited for him and his 11 bucks an hour. He got to work most of the day with a friend, Derek, which isn’t a bad way to start a new job. He has at least one other friend working there, also. It has been an interesting journey to this point with Costco. He applied back in the summer and they called him right away, before the store even opened. To give a little background, and without this being any kind of a judgement on any other individual or family’s beliefs or practices, we have taught our kids that the Sabbath (Sunday for us) is not a day for working if it can be avoided, and that it should be avoided actively. Johnathan has decided to adopt this belief and practice for himself. So, when they called a couple months back and told him he would have to work on Sunday, he politely told them he would not because of religious conviction, and they politely told him no thanks. So he applied for several other jobs, and just never got called. We kept hearing that Costco was shorthanded and Johnathan should call back for reconsideration. So he did, twice. Twice he was told the same thing. As much as I wanted him to get a job, I did not want to suggest that he compromise his personal integrity by standing down on his Sabbath beliefs. I knew there would be other rewards, even if it wasn’t in the job market. So, a couple of weeks ago, they called him back, not for an interview or any questions, but just a straight up drug test. They said they needed seasonal help and still had his application. So we figured he was hired if they went to the expense of a drug test. The end of the story is that he went Friday for orientation, asked about the Sunday thing and this time they said, “No problem.” He started up the next day and said it went well. I don’t know what will happen from here, but I’m glad he is starting his working life with this experience. Doing what you believe is right is not always easy and it doesn’t always bring obvious rewards, but his knowing that he was true to himself will stand him in good stead for the rest of his life. At least I hope it will.