The Last Time I Ever Said I Was Bored

Summary

The author recounts how their father taught them the value of self-entertainment and the consequence of declaring boredom by tasking them with the removal of a pine tree stump.

Abstract

In the spring of their 8th-grade year, the author's family moved to Winter Park, FL, where they faced the challenge of landscaping an undeveloped lot and later installed a pool. The presence of a pine tree next to the pool led to the decision to cut it down, leaving a stump that was repurposed as a birdbath. The pivotal moment came when the author expressed boredom at the dinner table, resulting in their summer job becoming the arduous task of removing the pine tree stump manually. This experience ingrained in the author a lifelong aversion to boredom and a sense of personal responsibility for finding interest and entertainment in life. The story of the stump removal became a family tale used to instill the same values in the author's sons, effectively deterring them from claiming boredom.

Opinions

Boredom is presented as a negative state that should be avoided.
Curiosity is seen as a preferable alternative to boredom.
The author believes it is one's own responsibility to stay engaged and interested in life.
The lesson learned from the stump removal was impactful and valued by the author.
The author suggests that storytelling can be an effective method for teaching life lessons to children.

How “bored” became a dirty word in my family…

In the Spring of 8th grade, my Dad had a pool put in.

We had moved to Winter Park, Fl the year before. My parents bought a house on an inside corner lot, about an acre, all undeveloped. I learned a lot about landscaping that first year.

When the pool was put in a tall pine tree was left next to the pool. It continually dropped pine needles into the pool. Dad paid a neighbour to cut down the tree. It was too expensive to have the stump removed, so we just set a birdbath on it.

“I’m bored”

Near the beginning of the summer of ’72, I made the mistake, one night at dinner, of telling my parents I was bored. My summer job immediately became getting that pine tree stump out of the ground.

In the summer.

In Central Florida.

With an axe, a pick, and a shovel.

Pine tree roots grow straight down.

I’ve never even thought about being bored since, much less uttered the words.

I love my Dad for that lesson. Fun thing is, by simply telling my sons that story many times, I’ve rarely heard them say they are bored. Whenever they would begin to, I would just give a look that I think said:

“remember the pine tree stump story!”

Lessons Learned

Here are a few lessons learned from the “pine tree stump story” that have served my sons and I well:

Boredom is to be avoided

Curiosity is better than boredom

It’s my job to keep me interested in and entertained by life

Storytelling | Inspiration | Motivation

The Last Time I Ever Said I Was Bored

How “bored” became a dirty word in my family…