Bonnie Brown

By Bonnie Brown

Columnist

Thinking back to when our boys were younger, we gave them chores to do.  The chore depended on age and ability.  For instance, Dennis cut grass since Jeff was younger.  Jeff had to collect all the toys and other paraphernalia in the yard.  

Some “chores” were actually things they needed to check off on a daily basis. We compiled a to-do list.  It was pretty simple and addressed lots of different issues.  For instance, use soap when you bathe.  How many times did I go into the bathroom when they were younger after they had been in the tub only to find the soap dry!  Brush your teeth, pick up your clothes, pick up toys, empty the trash can in your room, put your dirty dishes in the dishwasher, et cetera, et cetera.   To them, I’m certain the to-do list seemed endless.

When I was a kid I had chores to do.   No lists were involved, only Mom reminding me and my brother what was expected.  My mom wanted me to be in the kitchen with her learning how to cook, how to store food, how to manage a kitchen.  My brother had outdoor chores to do like cutting grass.  We were expected to wash and dry the supper dishes.  I usually washed, he dried.  

One warm summer evening, several cousins arrived to swim in the creek behind our house.  We were blessed with a nice swimming hole and had easy access to swim.  However, they arrived just after we were finishing supper and Mom reminded us that we had to do the dishes before we could go swimming.  She then left the kitchen.  

My brother and I looked at one another and decided we would place the dirty dishes in the dish rack, hide it under the sink and then we would proceed to the swimming hole with the cousins.  We planned to do the dishes after going swimming.  

Unfortunately, Mom soon discovered the dirty dishes and was waiting for us when we came back from swimming.   We were skunked!  She was not happy.  Of course, we were worn out from all the swimming, but we still had to do the dishes with Mom observing the process.  And as I recall, she may have added more things to do, like sweep the kitchen and emptying the trash.  

Did we have a good time with the cousins?  Oh yes!  Always.  But looking back these many years ago, I think I speak for my brother as well when I say we both felt like we’d let Mom down.  Thinking back, I know that Mom worked hard in the yard and garden while my dad was at work.  She prepared the meals, did laundry, made special desserts and did so many things for us.  How could we be so selfish as to skip out on doing dishes?  Even if the plan was to simply delay the chore?  It probably took us more time to stack the dishes in the dish rack, gather up all the pots and pans, and hide them than it would have taken to simply wash, dry, and put away the dishes and cookware.  

We weren’t really punished for our lapse, but I think we both learned a valuable lesson.  Never put off ‘til tomorrow what you can do today.  Or, as I found this about “last-minute Mozart” (yes, none other than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) who also procrastinated but managed to write the overture to the opera Don Giovanni the night before it premiered.

So, delaying dishwashing doesn’t compare to composing beautiful music, but it did teach us a lesson.  Don’t know if Mr. Mozart learned anything from his procrastination.