Strenghtening the Seams

As I was reading a post today on facebook, it occurred to me just important chores are in the lives of our family members. When we first adopted our big family of five, I knew that it was going to take everything that we had to make not only our family dynamics work, but also our household as well. And so, that is when the infamous "chore list" was born.
There are a number of basic chores that every household needs done in order to survive. There are also those chores that while they do not need to be done everyday, they still need to addressed. Kind of like the care of clothes, they have to be washed everyday, but every now and then there is a tear or a button missing that I have to sit down and fix. Thus, it is the same with the chores.
I started with a chalk board posted in the kitchen in an area that each child could easily see. I listed each child's name, their chore (based on there age and ability), and then a space for there dish night date. We had baths, dust, floors, set/clear, put laundry away, small trashes, large trashes, and yard. Then in each room, I place a list of what needed to be done for that particular chore, that way, there was never any second guessing by the children. The chores were pretty easy with none of them taking more than 20 minutes a night and if their chore didn't need to be done, that was their call to make. If the said chore did not get done, a check was placed by the persons name, and after two checks in one week, another chore would be added just for inspiration. I also awarded every week the child who had done there chore very well by doing that chore for the next week myself.
Usually, we never had any problems with the chores being done and done properly, but every now and then, some child would get an unusually busy week, which was either fun outside activities, or be on the phone in "love conversations". A few times, when this happened and there were no legitimate reasons for their slacking on the said chores, by the end of the week that child would just about be doing every chore in the house. Which, in itself, brought great joy to the other children and quite an attitude to the offender, which for me was worse than a dirty house.
I prided myself on the "chore list" because not only did it keep our home running smoothly, but it taught our children to take responsibility for caring for a household. My children can all iron, do laundry, and properly clean any room in the house. And over the years, as our needs as a family change, children moved out into homes of their own, the job list has been modified and updated. That's one nice thing about a large family, nothing ever stays the same.
I think over the years though their has been a few times when the children slacked off, and "Momma" stepped into make a point...
It's five o'clock, and as usual, four sets of big wide eyes, are staring at me from over the counter. "We're hungry, when we gonna' eat?" those eyes seemed to implore. I just kept smiling as I cleared the schoolwork off the table, as I set the table, as I placed the food on the table...I called all of the children to eat. We all joined hands as Tim prayed and then Tim smiled at me and the children started reaching for the food. "Hey, this stuff is cold and the hamburger meat is raw in that dish!" they all said in amazement and looking to see what the joke was.
But the laughter quickly died down when they saw the smile leave my face, "Today and this past week, instead of being your Momma, I have had to spend my days doing all of your chores. These chores have kept me busy all day. I can either be your Mother or your maid. Today , I was your maid and so your Momma just didn't have time to cook. Sorry, you'll have to eat it raw." I said matter of factly and placed my hot cooked food on my plate and their dad's plate as well. Believe me, the point was definitely made as they ate peanut butter and jelly while Tim and I enjoyed their favorite cooked meal, plus desert.
I guess the moral to the story is that chores are important. They need to be enforced, and sometimes they need to be modified. They teach our children the importance of responsibility,the importance of a clean home, and also the important role of parents in their lives.