A Working Vacation

Last week I spent my vacation painting the gables on my father's house. What is a 60 year old man doing on a 16 foot extention ladder you ask? Keeping his 87 year old father off of it is the answer.
You must understand that the "Children of the Depression" are probably the hardest working generation, especially when it comes to physical labor. Since many of them grew up poor, they know what it is like to have nothing. Many of this generation grew up working hard for very little pay and they learned the value of a dollar at a very early age. Therefore, they don't spend their money of foolish things like paying someone to paint their house.
My father is an amazing individual. Last year he fell off of a bicycle and broke his hip. That's right, an 86 year old man is riding a bicycle! After an unprecidented recovery, he is still very active. So, when the house needed painting, the only way to keep him off of the ladder, was for me to take a week of vacation and go paint it for him.
I just hope I know what a bicycle is when I'm 86!
I'm tired and my legs hurt for a few days after spending all of that time on the ladder rungs. We decided next time we will spring for vinyl siding. We had a good week.