Not Quite Finished

This past week I got to thinking about the care of our condo. As we are getting prepared to leave it for many months due to an assignment overseas, we have been looking and contemplating all of the things we need to do and take care of for those months. What crossed my mind during this past week was how I was brought up.

I’m not sure chores are a standard practice in American homes anymore, but when I was growing up in the 50’s and 60’s they were a inescapable daily routine. I took out the trash, alternated drying the dishes with my brother and sister, kept my room clean, raked the leaves in the fall, shoveled the snow in the winter, and mowed the lawn (with a push mower) in the summer. And those were simply the standard, no-getting-around-them chores. Things like cleaning out the gutters, vacuuming, not throwing clothes on the floor, washing the car, fixing my own bicycles, trimming the trees, and other non-essential chores kept me fairly busy around the house. And that brings me back to these past months and years…

I still take out the trash, still wash and dry the dishes, still vacuum the floors, still maintain a neat closet and home, still dust the dust, and still wash the windows (and in our condo there are plenty of big ones to clean). I still wash and maintain our vehicle, and repair electrical, carpentry, and plumbing issues. When I look back on my childhood I understand what my parents did for me. We don’t have to hire anyone to come and do those many chores, or sit and suffer when a light switch goes bad. Nor does my wife have to do many of those things because she has her own plateful.

She takes care of the finances, cooks incredibly delicious meals, does research and paperwork for a multitude of things that we are involved in. Whenever we travel she is the one who arranges flights, seats, and vehicles. (I help out with finding places to stay). She is the one who arranges doctor visits (I would just wait until I couldn’t move) and dentist appointments. She was the “first” editor of the book I wrote (she would tell me I remembered that story wrongly) and she has many more friends than I do. So she stays quite busy herself. (The list is a lot longer than I have just put down). Having been around her parents for years, I have seen how she too was raised to do certain essential things within her family. And that has matured and grown as we have enjoyed 40 + years of marriage.

As I thought about these things this past week I began to wonder if the children we raised, who are now married, will bring to their families the qualities that we instilled in them. Now that I’m writing this, the thought occurred to me that I should ask them, “What values did your mom and I bring to you that you are passing along to your children?” Hopefully they will respond with Biblical values. It is true that our children were raised in different cultures all of their lives, so there may be some blending of values in there. Now that I’m pondering this I can’t wait to meet up with my kids and see what they have to say.

I have been reading through the book of Deuteronomy this past two weeks and there are a whole lot of “duties” (commands, requirements, decrees, regulations) that God passed along to the early Israelites. And one of the most important verses in the Bible is Deuteronomy 6:6-9, where he tells them to “repeat them again and again to their children”. I only hope that I obeyed that command and that my children will follow it as well.