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Browsing Tag: dishes

Family,Lessons Learned

A Magic Wand

posted on : March 15, 2018 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 0 Comment

If I could wave a magic wand and undo some things, one of the things I would undo would be how I handled the dishes after dinner when my kids were teenagers.  In my mind my kids were busy with homework and other equally important activities so after dinner I would usually clean off the table and do the dishes.  They had their after school jobs already done and I thought I was facilitating getting homework done. In reality I was teaching them to be oblivious to cleaning up after dinner. Even as adults, after family dinners they would leave the kitchen and gather in the family room to visit and play games. I would start cleaning up already tired from food prep and cooking for a large group while hearing laughter and talking and fun going on.  If I asked for help someone would gladly come in and do one thing and then go back to the group. At first I was upset by this but since these kids of mine are usually kind and helpful people, I thought about it and decided that it didn’t even occur to anyone to help clean up, and it was because I had trained them to be oblivious.  After discussing the situation, everyone has been much better at helping clean up, with bringing food and working together, and now there’s laughter and talking and fun going on while we’re cleaning up from dinner. Hmmm, maybe I do have a magic wand after all!

Life

Gratitude

posted on : October 15, 2017 posted by : Somethingsihavelearned 2 Comments

Many years ago I read a sign that said “Lord, let me be thankful for dishes to wash because it means I had food to eat.” That little saying impacted me greatly and I have thought about it quite a bit over the years and have decided that sometimes it is so easy to complain while missing the big picture.  I have good food to eat and clean water to drink, while I know that many in the world are unable to say that. Even though I had a ton of laundry to do with 8 kids, it means we had clothes to wear and washing machines to do the laundry in.  Once when I was helping to make quilts for a humanitarian project we were given very specific instructions on making them with 1/2 inch batting, no thicker.  They explained that the quilts are often washed in streams or tubs of water and need to be able to dry quickly.  People still wash clothes and bedding in streams or tubs!  It’s hard to imagine that since I can throw a load of laundry in my machine in just a few minutes and come back later to clean clothes. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how good I have it.  Even in the midst of a terrible migraine I try to remember that I am somewhere safe in a comfortable bed, with a freezer that makes ice for me to use and a shower with plenty of hot water.  It doesn’t change my situation but it changes me and my attitude. Remembering that helps me to relax and to focus on the good in my life even in the midst of pain. Another sign I once saw said “There is always, always something to be grateful for.” I believe this!  A family friend told me a few years ago that on her mission for our church to Nicaragua that she had a bucket of cold water to bathe from most of the time.  I’m sure she would have loved a hot shower daily-something that I take for granted, like having a good car to drive or living in a beautiful area with good neighbors, and family who loves each other.  I want to be better at complaining a lot less and expressing gratitude more frequently.  “Lord, let me be thankful for dishes and bathrooms to clean, and laundry to do, and noisy family gatherings because it means I have so much.”