John 3:16 – Be thankful, grateful, patient, charitable, kind, and smile, as it is infectious. God Bless America; protect our president and the military!
Now in my 70s and thinking about this, I pretty much do most things the same way I have always done, thanks to a great upbringing. I wake up, and if I’m the last out of bed, I make the bed, but first I put the coffee on; that’s important, you know!
These days, I post my daily blog, shower, shave, and maybe get breakfast, although that would be very different from my youth or before retirement. Then I would get ready a little faster, a little earlier, and have breakfast before grabbing my to-go cup of coffee for my ride into work. Pretty much, I am a routine guy.
I will share a story or two from my youth that will offer insight into my DNA as a person. My parents both lived through the Great Depression (Dad, at 16, was in the CCC for 2 years). Also, before WWII, he enlisted and became an MP (military police) Staff Sgt. in Bangor, Maine, in an anti-aircraft artillery and prisoner camp. After having a stroke when I was 2 years old, he ran the household and helped my mom get work where he used to work with PTC (Phila. Transit Company).
I remember the first time one of my older brothers or sisters would complain about being asked to help with chores around the house, and then they’d say, “Well, that’s a boy’s job,” or “That’s a girl’s job,” to get out of it. My father would say All of you, sit down and hand me that dictionary. Look up the meaning of the word “JOB”! All of you, read it and let me know if its definition says anything about BOY jobs or GIRL jobs!
First day of summer every year, until we each got our own job in turn outside the house and paid board (that’s a discussion for another day), my mother would get up bright and early and, on an opened-out Acme paper brown bag, under each of my and my six siblings’ names, list…each of our DAILY chores and WEEKLY chores. I still see Dad lining us all up in the kitchen on the first day of summer vacation, and it would go something like this…
“The good general left me some orders for each of you! I, being the good sergeant that I am, am here to make sure the general’s orders are followed to the letter, as we all don’t want to disappoint the general. In his best sergeant voice…Do We!”
We did the dishes every day and even had to iron three dress shirts from 3rd grade on to have them ready for church or outings. If you only wore one or two, you only had to iron one or two. Everyone pitched in on folding or carrying laundry or help where and when asked or needed around the house. If young, you were a runner; if older and felt it was boys’ or men’s work, you made sandwiches and fetched drinks to keep the workers working. I think you’ve got it by now!
Oh! Our allowance for that in those days was $.50 and that was only for the weekly chore. I had to clean (vacuum and dust) the upstairs while my older sibs went to work; my brother Larry had the downstairs, and my kid sister Nancy had the bathroom. Oh! Ten of us lived in a four-bedroom big brick twin, and we only had ONE bathroom. So pretty much had to stick to our schedule, which worked out fine most of the time.
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