Italian parents are known for their strong sense of family, love, and passion. They often prioritize family values and traditions, placing great importance on spending quality time together. Italian parents are typically warm, nurturing, and protective, always looking out for their children's well-being. They take pride in their children's accomplishments and are often very involved in their education and personal development. Italian parents also tend to be quite affectionate and expressive, always ready to shower their children with love and support. Is there anything specific you would like to know about Italian parents?

I was nine years old my first day on the job at my dad's store: The Food Center.  I put on my apron and told my father I wanted to run the cash register.  He proceeded to hand me a broom and told me to sweep the entire store.

After I finished sweeping the entire store, he handed me a bigger broom and told me to go outside and sweep the parking lot.  Of course, the parking lot was right next to a feed store, and in that feed store there was a lot of hay.  That hay blew from the feed store into our parking lot.  It took me a long time, but I persisted and finished sweeping the parking lot.

Next, my father gave me a mop, told me to set up a "wet floor sign" and mop the produce department.

After that, my father gave me a toilet brush and told me to go clean the bathroom in the food center.

When I was done with the toilets, my father took me around to the garbage cans that were located everywhere in the store, including the meat scrapping garbage can that Uncle Louis (Lew-ee) would come and pick up every Wednesday.  He told me that Uncle Louis was coming that day, so I took all of the garbage out and dumped it in the gondola, took the meat scraps out, and waited for Uncle Louis.  When he arrived when I gave the scraps to Uncle Louis and asked him how his day was and he told me it was "quite shitty."

After that, he had me dust all around the counters and had me clean the counters.

Before I knew it, it was lunchtime.  One thing about The Food Center is that you always had great lunches.  Whether that was a shrimp sandwich, a crab sandwich, a ham sandwich, a turkey sandwich, you had your choice of vegetables, and there were always lots of laughs to be had in the backroom.

After lunch, my dad took me to the stockroom and told me, "If things are in the back of the store, they aren't selling.  So go to the front, find out if the dog food has gotten low, load up the shelves, and face (bring forward and make look nice) all of the groceries in the entire store.  By then, the day was coming to an end. (Your Dad's Schedule?)

My father proceeded to pay me one dollar for my day's work.  He gave me that dollar and walked me across the street to Home Savings and Loan and had me open up an account.  He told me that the most important value you can learn is when you make money, you need to be sure to invest money or save  money for yourself.  My hard earned dollar bill was deposited into my new account.  I had to sign my name to take ownership of my new account.

When this process was repeated for my brother Dan a few years later, and the time came for him to sign, Dan didn't know how because it was summer vacation, and he'd forgotten how to write his name.

The first is that there is no replacement for hard work.

The second lesson I learned is similar to the first. Don't be afraid to do things others won't do.

The third is that you have to pay your dues (before you get to the cash register).  It doesn't matter if you’re the owner's kid.

The fourth is stated above, but worth repeating.  When you make money, make sure you save/invest some of it so that you have something to fall back on during hard times.  Prosperity is fleeting.