One of the things I love about being a small employer is being able to work with my children. I have always gotten a deep satisfaction teaching them and giving them an opportunity to earn money. I have employed all my four children at least part time and thoroughly enjoyed each of them.
   Right now I am lucky to have my 20-year old son, Eli, working with us as we build houses. The foundation aspect of the project is particularly poignant for me because my dad was a foundation subcontractor and he put me to work for the first time during my spring vacation in 6th grade. After that, all my school vacations were working vacations.
     Since we are hands-on builders and only build a few houses a year, Eli has only helped on two foundations and so he has a lot to learn. In the photo above, he is learning how to cut the form ties with a sharp cutting bar during the stripping process which we do the day after we pour the foundation.
  


   I never have poured one our basements without my dad's help. I always bring him out of retirement for a few hours to help us because there are a lot of things that can go wrong. He comes out and inspects all the work and when he gives it the thumbs up, then I know we're ready.
   You talk about experience. He first went to work in this field when he was around Eli's age which was 55 years ago. I hope someday Eli will have the chance to tell his kids about what it was like to work with and learn from a master like their great-grandfather.