Saturday, February 26, 2011

My Saturday List

Growing up, Saturdays were 'chore day'. Each of us had an assignment for the day and as we got older, the chore list grew in relation to what we were capable of doing. At one point my sister and I listed all the chores on slips of paper and then drew them from a jar to determine who would do what. (except for mopping the floor which always seemed to be my sister's job)

The list included the usual cleaning chores: empty waste baskets, dust, clean the bathroom, etc. And we could always count on a Saturday morning visit from a couple of mom's girlfriends. This meant a certain percentage of chores needed to be done before they arrived for coffee.

The list was a good way to break up the boredom of cleaning. Sort of a lottery to see who would win the easier chores such as wiping down the face of the kitchen cupboards VS cleaning the toilet.

When I was raising my children they had chores too. Not as extensive as the list I had growing up and I'm not sure why. Maybe I thought my childhood was too rigid and wanted to 'spare' my kids of that. Maybe because by that time I had very little in my life I had control over and this was something I could control. It was just easier to do it myself and even ensured I would be left along while doing it.

What ever the case, I am sorry now that I did not work harder at instilling these kinds of work ethics in my children's lives. By the time my daughter was a teen, her bedroom looked like a tornado had hit it and getting her to clean up her room was a near impossible task. (I think she has gotten past that phase in her life, thank goodness)

So... now my chore day blends in with any other day of the week. There is always a load of laundry that needs to be done, the dishes are in constant cycle and my husband (love this man-- I really do) has the most *charming*  habit of tracking mud and dirt across the floors on a regular basis. sigh.

you know the old saying.... "a clean house is the sign of a broken computer."

I do a little bit every day to keep things from too much chaos and now my Saturday Lists look something like this...

1. sleep in
2. extra cream in my coffee and sit awhile longer and dream.
3. read a book
4. take a walk
5. when I get the urge to clean the house, I lay down until it passes...

I love my new Saturday List but there are days I think about my sister and I fighting over the chore jar, racing to get done in time and the healthy values that having those weekly responsibilities brought about.  And I smile.

1 comment:

  1. I much prefer your current Saturday list!! ;) It looks very much like mine does!

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