Summer Fun and..... Chores?

As of this Tuesday, I have 4 boys home for the summer. I have many fun activities planned. But, I have discovered one thing that has really helped to keep me sane when we are all together, and make our fun times even more fun. And that is…..CHORES!

We start each day with a list of things that need to get done before we head out for the day. You wouldn’t believe the list I had in my head before they were even out of school! I am actually excited about it! We will spend about an hour together every morning, making sure the usual stuff is done: beds made, bathrooms and kitchen cleaned. In addition, I always have a project: clean the garage, basement, fridge, pull weeds in one of the gardens, pack up old toys for Savers etc. This really helps to keep my house somewhat clean when all six of us and the dog are home, and it does a lot to keep me sane. I enjoy my time with my kids when I know we are on top of things at home. It also helps my sons realize the amount of work involved in keeping a house orderly and they have learned to take great pride in a job well done.

They also have learned to give back to me. They know that 75% of my day is about them and keeping them busy and happy. They can give me an hour of their time to get things done that are important to me and the maintenance of our house. And when we are done… we are off to
have fun!!!!


Audrey responds:

Chores, what Chores? Probably because I resented the huge amount of work I, and especially my older brother had to do as children, my kids had very few chores. I decided that I didn't care about unmade beds and that it was less trouble to clean the kitchen myself than to do battle at 7pm.

Have there been dire consequences? I don't think so. My adult children work hard for their goals and pitch in with chores when they visit. If I don't like the state of their kitchens when I visit them, we can always eat out.