# WhatsWrongWithOurKidsToday ? When I was a kid (around 11-14y/o), I was 75cents soaking wet & around 4'5" tall. My schedule consisted of the following EVERY WEEK (in a way, I wish I was exaggerating, but no, thinking back, I really don't):

# Monday : 530am, I woke up, pulled on my boots over my pajamas, went to the feed room, pulled up feed & hay for 6 horses, fed, hayed & watered them all. Came back in the house, washed up, ate breakfast, and caught the bus for school. After school, I stopped in the feed room again, repeated the process, and THEN went inside to do my homework & house chores. Monday was an "off day" meant to be used for chores around the house & homework (which I asked my teacher for every Monday morning for the week ahead so I could bust it out of the way; I had other things to spend my time on).

# Tuesday : 530am & after school process repeated, then went inside to change from my school clothes to my play clothes & grabbed a snack. That was just enough time for everyone to finish eating. Then, I caught, groomed & saddled 5 horses by myself (with the help of a milk crate). Next, I got all the ropes together, made sure all the rope bags with baby powder were loaded into the trailer, then hooked the gooseneck trailer up to the truck, and just before my stepdad would get home, loaded all 5 horses into the trailer & had the truck running to get gone just after 515pm. (My biological mother wouldn't be home until later that evening.) Then, we'd head to the # LumbertonRodeoArena where I would unload the horses, get everyone tied just right to the trailer so no one kicked or got tangled before heading to the stocks just in time to wrap horns on 50+ head of steer before 645pm. That left me 45min to exercise & warm up all 5 horses before the practice roping began. During the practice roping, I worked the chutes, gates & alleyways at the end of the arena, removing ropes & pushing steers back thru to the roping chutes. Oh, and hazing for the team ropers when I was needed. Once everything was done around 9pm, I quickly took care of our horses before heading back to remove the horn wraps & help load the steers. Then, it was off to the house to unload, unsaddle, groom, hay, feed & water all 6 of the horses. My stepdad unhooked the trailer. Then, shower, eat & bed. wedding dresses for big bust

# Wednesday : 530am & after school process started again, only today was "church day" so I would catch up on homework before church at 7pm. Home by 9pm, shower & bed. # EasyDay .

# Thursday : You guessed it, 530am & after school process, only today was the same as Tuesday's schedule with one exception... Only 2 horses to groom, saddle & load up. Trailer hooked up, stepdad home, off to Lumberton for barrel racing practice til 9pm. Would run exhibition runs for the first hour and a half, full runs the last hour and a half. Home, unload, groom, feed, hay, water, shower, bed.

# Friday ! Same as every other day, BUT... Open Buckle Series Rodeo!!! Woohoo! # ShowMeTheBling ? Oh, and I had my 2 stepbrothers to help (somewhat ? ). Dressed to the nines but can't get dirty (no time to change), helped wrap the horns, warm up my 2 horses, then run like hell for the fastest times in # BarrelRacing , # PoleBending , # GoatTying , and # BreakawayCalfRoping . Finally get home around 130am the following morning, unload, groom, feed, hay & water - this night with *some* help from my stepbrothers at least LOL, then shower & to bed.

# Saturday ! This is the big day! Yup, same 530am process because today was the Youth Series Rodeo & it started at 11am. Again, dressed to the nines but can't get dirty (usually either freezing my fingers off or sweating like crazy because, well, Texas Gulf Coast), wrapped the horns, warmed up my 2 horses & run like hell again in all of the same events only this Rodeo was for points to win the championship at the end of the series. Usually finish this one up around 130pm. Change clothes because Rodeo dress clothes are expensive ? . Unsaddle & groom the horses, give them some water, hay & feed while tied to the trailer. Grab a bite to eat from the concession stand. Try like hell to take a power nap somewhere in all the chaos of the chores at the Rodeo arena. Unwrap the horns of the steers, work them & the other livestock thru the chutes to the trailers to get loaded & changed out, bring in the fresh steers, for the Open Jackpot Rodeo starting that evening at 7pm. (Yup, still Saturday.) But hey, # ShowMeTheMoney ? ! I would run like hell in all my events hoping to win but if not, then at least place in the money. # DontWinDontEat Finally get home around 2-3am from the big jackpot rodeo. Repeat the process of taking care of the horse's needs. Shower, eat, bed! ? ? ?

# Sunday : My biological mother insisted that we all go to church Sunday morning & Sunday night. At least on Sundays, I didn't have to get up to feed until 8am. Shower, eat, dressed in my Sunday best, off to church. Napped best I could after church if I didn't have homework to finish, then church that evening, home around 9pm, shower, eat & bed, to start it all over again Monday morning.

This schedule was nearly year round as the Rodeo seasons changed. If it wasn't a regular Rodeo season, it was some other series - youth, buckle, jackpot, event specific, etc. that was going on.

Btw, # NoPassNoPlay was a rule that was strictly enforced. My grades had better stay 80 & above or I didn't ride. I still had the chores, but I didn't get the pay off. I'm proud to say this was never a rule I tested ?
# NoExceptions . # NoExcuses .

To some, this may seem like a horrendously rigorous schedule for someone of my age at the time.

To me, it was some of the greatest lessons I have ever learned in my life. It is time that, even though I had to deal with more personal experiences & abuse than I will go into, I wouldn't trade for anything in the world - except of course if I could still have all of the schedule just as it was but WITHOUT the abuse. (No, I didn't do the schedule - rigorous as it was - because of the abuse. I did it because I loved it.)

I learned so much from the adults around me at the Rodeo about life & the competition I so dearly loved. There were never, ever any # ParticipationTrophies . And even though I didn't always win, I learned # HardWork , # WorkEthic , # TimeManagement , # Priorities , and the love of a sport and its athletes that I carry even today. I learned a lot of # Respect for my elders, for life, for money, and for myself.

Mostly, I learned that if you want to win, and that win is determined by the dynamic between you & your partner, you better get on the same page! # Teamwork between you & a 1200lb animal with a mind of it's own is harder than most people think. You can't whip or beat them into submission if you *really* want to win. They won't give you their all if you do. You have to have # Patience and # Humility , which I learned in spades!

No, I did not grow up to be a damaged adult as a result of my schedule as a kid. If anything, the schedule prevented more damage from happening.

So what's wrong with our kids today?

How many of you know a kid with this kind of schedule?

How many of you know a kid with a schedule even HALF as rigorous as this one?

I can bet none of you do.

No, I am not saying that a schedule like this is what it takes to get every kid on the right track and teach them these lessons that are so vital for a successful adulthood.

But for the love of Pete, STOP BABYING THESE KIDS.

You are setting them up for FAILURE.

Give them some # Structure . Give them some #Responsibility. Stick to your guns when they don't make the cut.

TEACH THEM TO WORK FOR WHAT THEY WANT. Make them EARN it. I promise you, they will have more #SelfConfidence & #SelfEsteem than anything a stupid participation award will give them!

Anyhow, that's my 2 cents. Yea, it was long, but I hope it was worth it. And no, my son didn't have the same type of schedule as I did simply because the opportunity wasn't there. The Lumberton Rodeo Arena sold out and is now the bus barn. Too many Rodeo companies went bankrupt due to the economy. It's a damn shame really.