Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

Last Saturday, I attended a Provident Living Fair in our area. The keynote speaker discussed financial conservatism. It was inspiring and eye-opening. Then we had the choice of two more classes out of 8 or 10. I chose the marriage and family relationship class and the time management class. I feel that we can never learn enough to help improve our relationships, but I normally avoid anything that has to do with management of any kind, especially time. Yuck!! You see, I am right-brained. I can't possibly be expected to plan. I like to live in the moment and take it as it comes. So, why did I choose that class? I don't know. It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time. And just as I expected, the class presented a "system" for organizing the household. It was a card system of jobs filed on 3x5 cards. Not excited. Now don't get me wrong. I've actually tried many organizational methods....with little success...including this one. The best system so far for our family was the job chart. But the kids sort of "out grew" it a couple of years ago and things have been going downhill ever since. I sat in the class thinking, "Wow. That's really amazing for you and everyone else, but it will never work for me." I did come away with a few ideas for cleaning the bathroom more effectively. That was that. Or so I thought. I couldn't get that class out of my mind. Those 3x5 cards would creep into my head and I would promptly push them out. But I knew I needed to do something to get order restored to our home and family. I needed a way to involve my children. They were becoming really lazy and I was becoming really exasperated.

Sunday morning, I was standing in the shower and a thought came to my mind. (My best inspiration often comes in the shower.) "This isn't about you. It's for your kids. It's the best way to get them involved again." I resolved to give it a try. Monday morning came and I headed to the Dollar Store to purchase 3x5 cards and a file box. By the time the kids returned from school, I had Monday's jobs all listed on separate cards. I said, "These are the Monday jobs that I didn't finish today. There are 8 cards and 4 of us so if we each do 2 jobs, we'll be done in no time." And we were done in no time. There was no complaining or whining. Everyone just got in and got it done. It was truly a thing of beauty. Each day, I would make more cards for the coming day of the week. After school, the same thing happened. Smooth.

Until Thursday. We weren't home. Nothing got done. Friday...same thing. Was it all going to fall apart? Not on my watch. So on Saturday, we pulled out all of the cards that didn't get completed during the week and divided and conquered. IT WORKED!!! To my relief and amazement, order is returning and it is happening fast.
Each day as I would sit down to write more cards, I would pray for guidance and then everything would fall into place. I feel very blessed and quite humbled. I just needed to look at the situation from a different perspective. Being a mother isn't so much about me keeping a perfect house, fixing delicious and healthy meals, and being SuperWoman. It's more about teaching my children responsibility, order, discipline, work ethic, respect and love. And as I'm teaching my children in this laboratory we call home, I might end up with a clean house, warm meals, and happiness. My children are happier when they know what is expected of them and they are held accountable for it. I am happier when it's not about me and what I want but it's about US, the family. I'm also happier when I find order, much to my right-brained resistance. So, maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks.