SPRING BREAK!

My four older children are in three different schools, and it just so happens that they all have spring break at the same time! Woo-hoo! So.... time to party!

Here are some of our plans:

• Read Together Every Day! (we haven't been doing too well with this oh-so-awesome family habit)
• Get Together with the Cousins! (13 cousins live within 10 miles or so from us, but it takes a conscious effort to make sure we hang out)
• Feed the Ducks at Decker Lake! (we already have two bags of too-old bread!)
• Play Boggle! (a new fave along with Phase 10 and Monopoly)
• Go to Temple Square! (Daddy works there... he doesn't get the week off like we do, but we can still go eat lunch with him)

It's so nice, sometimes, to get a break from the daily rigamarole... of course, some things still have to get done, like Chores...

You may not already know that in trying to help our family have a good attitude about chores, I adopted FLYLady's terminology and instead of doing chores we refer to it as "Bless Our Home." Another way I have attempted to not waste energy on complaining 'cuz it's gotta be done so we might as well use our energy to work rather than whine IS... helping them see that chores aren't a punishment! They aren't just fabricated slave labor to build character! They are simply what needs to be done as a result of something else being done first. And so I present to you...

The Parable of the Open Drawers

© Kingdomgraphix | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

In our family, we like to eat. It's a silly little thing, I know, but something about growling tummies, and boom, we're in the brand-spankin'-clean kitchen lookin' for somethin' to put down the ol' cake-hole. I don't know if this happens in your house, but alluvasudden, the kitchen ain't so clean anymore.

MOM: Hey, kiddos, let's clean up after we eat!

KIDDOS (in unison): But Mah-ahm (whining always makes Mom have two syllables) we didn't do anything wrong. We just had a snack. Don't punish us!

MOM: Ummm, (using a calm and friendly voice) I will only punish you if you don't clean up!

Then for demonstration, I open a drawer. And leave it open. And open another drawer, and leave it open... Then I try to dance through the kitchen, dramatically banging into the drawers...

MOM: Chores, errr, blessing our home, is like closing a drawer. You close it because you opened it, and because a closed drawer presents fewer problems than an open drawer.  In an area with open drawers, ya can't have as much fun. Taking the time to close it gives you space to be free.

I see the lights go on in my oldest child's eyes. Whew! Once I have him helping me, together we can convince the others of the cleverness of this perspective!

And we can go have fun during our Spring Break!