This summer has been a big work summer for my four children and their nine cousins. I’d like to say it is because their parents have instilled in them a good, firm work ethic, but the truth of the matter is that I think it is all due to their beloved and very generous grandfather (my father) Pop Pop.

At the beginning of the summer Pop Pop sent a letter to each of his grandchildren telling them the importance of summer jobs and saving money. Pop Pop is wise enough to know that simply saying “get a job” does not always translate into getting a job. He added a tasty little carrot, a P.S. that said, “For every dollar you earn, I will match it. If you make $20, I will give you an extra $20”. He explained that part of the deal was that they each had to email him a work log which included a description of the job, the dates and the amount earned. He set a deadline- the first of each month. If the deadlines were not met, then there would be no match.

And so the summer began with Pop Pop’s thirteen grandchildren scrambling to find jobs, and the emails began flooding his inbox. Benjamin landed a construction job in Washington D.C.; Jack worked on a farm digging post holes and baling hay; Lee put together a summer camp; Relly and Eva painted the garden fence and Sam stuffed envelopes for the Josie King Foundation.

Stokes (15) and Andrew (14), my two nephews who live in Virginia, came up with a particularly interesting money making scheme. They named their enterprise A.s. You Like It Car Care. (The “A” stands for Andrew and the “S” stands for Stokes. I asked Andrew why the “A” was upper case and the “S” was lower case. He said he designed the logo, and that’s why the “A” was upper case.) They sent flyers to all of their neighbors and friends. They bought car cleaning supplies. They set up a table with magazines and lemonade. Then they turned on the hose and started scrubbing.