In Be The Mom I talk about doing chores together as a family and trying to make even chores an opportunity to bond and build relational equity with your children. I suggest that it is wise to make doing things around the house more about the relationship and character building and less about perfect chore completion. With repetition and effort there is continuous improvement in children.
I know sometimes it is tough moms cause we could get it done so much faster and so much easier if we just did it ourselves – but that doing things together does build relationship.
Yesterday morning my daughter and I made breakfast together and had lots of fun doing it. The guys set up the table and dishes out on the back deck and the kitchen was a bustle of activity and conversation.
Now, if you are thinking – well yeah, they are older so of course you are doing stuff together. I just want you to know it’s a pattern that started long ago and I am learning more and more that God had a purpose in that pattern.
So there we were out having breakfast on the back deck, my husband, nineteen year old daughter, sixteen year old son and two of my daughters friends. The discussion was lively and fun and at some point we started discussing the fact that we had just bought a new washer/dryer because our other set bit the dust.
Suddenly my daughters face lit up and she started talking about how much she loved the dryer we had when she was a little girl. She said the best dryers were the ones that had doors in the front that opened down. She proceeded to share, quite animatedly, how much she remembered loving doing laundry with me. She recounted how I used to get the laundry out of the washer and drop it onto the opened door of the dryer and she would get to push it in. She vividly remembered those early MOMents and watching her joyfully recount and re-enact doing laundry with me actually made me get a bit misty.
It was as if God was reminding me afresh and wanting me to encourage YOU that what I wrote in Be The Mom really does have long lasting effects.
What my daughter was proving to me in her joyful recounting of doing laundry…was that it mattered – the relationship building, the confidence building and yes, even the chores taking way too long to get done…mattered.
Truly God blessed me yesterday morning – and I hope you will receive that blessing as a reminder to you that … every MOMent counts!
What chores could you do a little differently, that would pull your children into doing them alongside you – with giggles and grins?!
This was great to read, I love making cookies, banana bread and having my kids help me , son 3 and daughter 1. They get so excited about it oh the Joy. And the laundry one i have a flip down dryer and i put clothes on it and my daughter 1 pushes them in or tries to and i close it she helps me and i say thank you and she just giggles!! They love the simple joy of helping! Praise God!