Fathers Day Present- Tackle his To-Do List

 Every year I struggle to figure out what to do or buy for my husband for Fathers Day and this year was no different. How do you give a present to someone who already has what he wants unless it's a really expensive item.

 I was mulling this over one day while working through my To-Do list for the day and it occurred to me ," I can take stuff off his To-Do List." If the kids and I can do the stuff that is on his list then that will lighten his load. I knew of things that he had been saying since we moved into our new house that he needed to do. There are always things that weigh on him that he wants to get done but something else more pressing always gets in the way of his getting to that task. I already knew what some of those things were because every time we would pass by that thing he would say something like," Ah, I really need to get that taken care of. I am going to do that this weekend." 

I starting making a list off the top of my head of all the things I have heard him say he needed to get done that he hadn't gotten to because life happens. I know that those things weigh on him emotionally and mentally. Lightening what is weighing him down I thought would be a great gift. I continued to write things down in my bullet journal as I would hear him mention things he wanted to get done. 

Now I just needed an opportunity to get them done without him feeling bad about someone else doing what he had labeled as his responsibility. The opportunity came when his father needed help moving over Fathers Day weekend.

As soon as he left I called the kids together for a family meeting and explained my idea for Fathers Day presents this year. The kids were on board. I broke down his To-Do list into tasks we had to complete each day in order to get it all done while their father was gone. Each day we worked at the tasks on the list till they were done. I was so proud of how hard they worked, they put in 8-10 hours of work most days with me. 

I took before pictures and after pictures in case he didn't notice because he was to tired from moving his Dad. Here are some of the things that were on his To-Do list.

Before-Pruning the hedge

After-Pruning the hedge

Before-Limb hanging over the driveway

After-Limb handing over the driveway

                Before-Moss on stone bench(Its alive!)                                                                         After-Moss on stone bench(Its dyeing!)

                            Before-Weed whack 1 side of the house                                                                       After- Weed whack 1 side of the house

 

Before- Other side of the house; prune, rake leaves, weed whack 

                                                    After-Other side of the house; prune, rake leaves, weed whack

                                                                        Before-Prettier yard edge; move bushes to fill in gaps and replace dead trees

                                                                                    After-moved bushes to fill in gaps and replaced dead trees

                            Before-Weed by hand blueberry bushes and strawberry plants

                                        After-Weeded by hand the blueberry bushes and strawberry plants

             Before- Trim the bushes in front of the house                                 After-Trimmed the bushes in the front of the house