There are, I'm sure, many ways to learn responsibility. When you become an "adult" it is one of the key attributes you must master in order for you to keep jobs, relationships and friends. Some men never learn which is a shame. Its hard to tell someone to just be more responsible it one of those learned traits. I learned responsibility at a young age because of an experience I had and I still think about it all the time. Maybe sharing my experience will teach you men out there why its so important.
My Story
When I was young, maybe around 10-11 years old my neighbours were an old retired couple who lived alone. They were probably in their 70s at the time and they travelled a lot. They went away with family or up to their cottage or went on trips. They would always ask me to house sit for them and feed their cat while they were gone. It was great for me because they paid me every time they went away so I was making pretty good money for a 10 year old.
Their house was full of antiques which was something I never appreciated at the time. Beautiful stuff too such as solid wood furniture, paintings and heirlooms behind glass cases. They held on to everything from when they were younger.
I would go over to their house in the morning, feed the cat and collect the mail. In the evening I would feed the cat again and turn on some random lights to give the impression that someone was home. Sometimes I would only do this for a weekend and sometimes for one or two weeks at a time. They went away quite a bit but I did my job dutifully because it was easy and they paid me. Unfortunately, I started to slack off a bit. Sometimes I was in a rush to go play with my friends and would quickly feed the cat then leave or grab the mail and just throw it inside the door. There was even one instance where they took their cat with them so all I had to do was collect mail and turn on a off the lights.
This is the point where I started to get really lazy. I would maybe collect the paper every other day or just leave the same light on the whole time. I would tell them when they got home that I went over every day and did everything they asked me to do. They were happy because they thought I was still doing a great job.
Sadly, it would all come crashing down on me when they went away for a week with their cat and again asked me to watch the house. I said no problem, I would do it like I always have. Well, I had gotten pretty lazy about it all and maybe I was tired of going over there or I was hanging out with my friends too much because I never went over for the entire week. Then on Sunday morning I knew they were coming back that day so I had to go over and make it look like I did some work. I got up and went downstairs to grab the house keys and my mother told me that last night their house was broken into. My face went red and hot because I knew I would be in trouble from them and my parent's. My mother did not look impressed and told me to go over and take a look.
I went over to thier house and saw that the thieves had torn off a screen window on ground level that lead to the basement and then ransacked the place. They took some stuff out the front and some stuff through the backyard. And of course I saw that their mailbox was full. I felt so bad, so guilty and thought that maybe I would be in trouble from the police since it was partially my fault. The couple never talked to me after that for years and every time I saw them my face would go hot and I would try to avoid them but I know they saw me so I just kept my head down.
Final Words
I was never on speaking terms with them again until well into high-school and even then the wife still didn't want to talk to me. I learned a lesson that I will never forget, one that my parent's told me regarding this situation. When someone asks you to do something and you agree you are taking on that responsibility no matter what. You cant just decide that you don't feel like it any more or that that person doesn't deserve anything but the bare minimum. That task becomes just as important as any one task you have to do for yourself. Trust is something that when broken is very hard to get back. This is something a truly responsible man must learn or it may have dire consequences.
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