The Grass Is Kind Of Green On Both Sides

My first bear was given to me at birth. His name was Bear because that was what made most sense at the time. And for seven years he went everywhere with me. Similar to Aclark, I too believed in following the example my mom set foward. Since the day I could walk  I would accompany my mother and other housekeepers ranging from family to strangers at their job. We would clean 2-3 houses a day. Even as a 3 year old I would participate in cleaning glass items, drying dishes, cleaning baseboards. I would follow my mom around like a duckling with Bear, constantly asking what was next to gain praise for work well done. This job was what kept us fed and clothed so in my eyes, it wasn't even a job.  As far as I was concerned, it was all a game. I would clean correctly and recieve pats on the head and acknowledgement of my hard days work with snacks from the store. Sometimes the owners would be home and they would begin a conversation with me which on occassion due to cuteness gained me a few quarters or dollars here and there. This was my play time. Monday through Saturday consisted of what some considered work but I considered it not just entertainment, but bonding with my mother. Many of my cousins that fell in my age range did the same as well helping their parents cut yards or sell icecream,  so it was never strange. It was what our parents did and the example they set was one in which we learned to follow because we wanted to be like them. The toys I had at home were the mini mops and brooms, almost an entire kitchen and cleaning play set. It was respected in my family to have a daughter or son that was not "lazy" and helped around the house and at work. But as I grew older I began to notice the toys that other children had. As I grew older I began to notice that the houses I would clean that had multitude of cars, trainsets, dolls, building blocks, coloring books, basically imagination land. Eventually the owners would ask my mother if I could play with their son or daughter and hesitantly my mother would say yes. That was the beginning of a whole new world. I began to fall in love with these magical stories we would create for the toys and suddenly Bear became even more interesting. He had personality. But now I was stuck between two types of play time, the kind at home that would not allow me to go on adventures with my Bear, but have us in work mode and the kind that allowed us to drift off into a new land where castles and dragons were real and praise was not required. Play time was any time I was able to enjoy myself.