This past weekend, I raked the never-ending supply of leaves and prepared the yard for cooler weather. While working, I remembered a similarly warm autumn weekend when my son, William, was 10. I was dirty, sweaty, thirsty, and tired from the outdoor chores, and found William cozily engrossed in a book. (One he'd read so many times, the spine was no longer intact.)
With irritation in my voice, "Rather than reading that book again, please come help me with the chores!" William earnestly responded, "But mommy, you
like
working in the yard and I don't."
William's right. I do enjoy working in the yard and much of that joy blossomed at an early age when I "had to" do chores. Now, I fondly remember planting tulip bulbs with my dad in the fall, harvesting and "snapping" beans with my grandmother in the summer, and hauling firewood in the winter.
William's reply is important to me for three reasons:
-
From a young age, he noticed his parents doing chores without complaint but with purpose.
-
As an adult, I connect even laborious childhood chores with some of my most vivid and positive childhood memories.
-
Chores at home fall into two categories:
want
tos
and
have
tos
