Chores
27/04/16 05:07
Yesterday five chaplains served a barbecue lunch to about 125 Pennington County Sheriff’s employees. It was snowing here in Rapid City, so we had to adapt our plans because of the weather. We went to work. We rearranged the furniture in the Patrol Briefing Room, set up the grill in a protected outside area near a stairway door, set up some steam trays to keep the food warm. By the time the officers began to show up for lunch, we had a system going with some staffing the grill, others shuttling food back and forth, others greeting guests and helping serve the food. When the meal was finished, we cleaned up the room, rearranged the tables, put away our supplies, loaded coolers and grill into pickups and had the facility ready for the next shift briefing which occurred at 2:30 p.m. What made the adventure so much fun was the way in which we chaplains work together. There were just five of us, all from different denominational backgrounds, with different theological perspectives. One is just completing his studies at a four-year Bible college. Two have bachelors degrees and two have earned doctorates. We range in age from early thirties to mid sixties. A couple of us are old enough to be parents to the youngest ones. But we work together very well. It isn’t that we have had a lot of practice working together. We are just a group of people who are used to pitching in and getting the job done.
I have the good fortune to work with several different groups of people who are that way. Our woodchuck team at the church is that way. When we have taken trips to Costa Rica, our traveling groups have been that way. The rummage sale crew is that way. But not every group comes together to accomplish a task as easily. I’ve been in the room when we were short of volunteers. I’ve known people who are quick to want to be named chairman or leader, but slow to get the work done. I’ve hung out with groups where there is more talk than work.
I think that part of the difference comes from the way we grew up. It is not a generational difference, however. I’ve known people of all ages who know how to work and who are quick to participate in group activities. I’ve known other people, of different ages, who don’t seem to know how to work with others.
I remember being a junior high student (although our town was too small to have a junior high school). I was at summer camp. One day we went with our family groups on a hike. We carried with us foil pouch lunches. The lunches had hamburger, potatoes and carrots and the plan was to build a small fire and cook the lunches over the coals. After watching our counselor try and fail to light the fire, I began to gather moss and kindling from nearby. I took out my pocket knife and shaved a dry stick. I found a small piece of pitch wood and laid a small fire. After the counselor had gone through half a book of matches without success, I started my little fire with a single match and added wood until it was ready to cook the lunches. I remember thinking that it was strange that the counselor didn’t seem to know how to build a fire. I also remember thinking that it was strange that the other campers didn’t automatically gather firewood. They seemed to be waiting for instructions when the situation seemed to me to be obvious.
Over the years at dozens and dozens of camps I have observed that some campers come with the basic skills and abilities to participate in small group work and others seem to lake those skills and abilities. I remember a camp a dozen or more years ago when I had to provide some basic instruction on passing food for family-style dining. There were campers at my table who figured out how to get food from the serving dish nearest to them, but who didn’t think to pass it to others or to ask that other dishes were passed to them. I have no memory of learning such things. It was just a part of the family where I grew up.
Lately, there have been some good articles in the magazines I read about the need for unstructured play for children. In our over-organized world, some children are not given enough time to just play. They have organized activities to fill their days and as a result don’t develop the same initiative as those who are given opportunities to create their own activities. I’m encouraged to read these articles because I have observed the same thing. There are children who don’t seem to know what to do unless given direct instructions from a leader. Youth become involved in our youth groups who don’t have basic planning skills and who expect programming to be provided for them. When asked what events or activities they’d like to pursue, they are slow to answer, wondering why they are even being included in the process. We have to teach them how to take on basic leadership roles. Sometimes they even resent the fact that they are being asked to provide leadership.
While I agree that free play is important in child development, I also believe that work is important. A few simple chores can teach a child a great deal about successful living with others. A preschooler can place dirty dishes in the sink and wipe off a table. They can pick up toys and help put clothes away. Children enjoy real work that contributes to the family. When our children were little, some of their chores required assistance. I would sometimes have to re-wash dishes. When camping, I might have to go around and set the tent pegs a bit deeper. Raking leaves with the kids didn’t always result in less time or even less work for me. But we learned to work together and our children grew up to be people who know how to pitch in and participate.
Decades from now people will recognize the difference that a few chores have made in people’s lives. I’m grateful to the parents of young children who have the patience and foresight to help their children learn how to work with others.
I have the good fortune to work with several different groups of people who are that way. Our woodchuck team at the church is that way. When we have taken trips to Costa Rica, our traveling groups have been that way. The rummage sale crew is that way. But not every group comes together to accomplish a task as easily. I’ve been in the room when we were short of volunteers. I’ve known people who are quick to want to be named chairman or leader, but slow to get the work done. I’ve hung out with groups where there is more talk than work.
I think that part of the difference comes from the way we grew up. It is not a generational difference, however. I’ve known people of all ages who know how to work and who are quick to participate in group activities. I’ve known other people, of different ages, who don’t seem to know how to work with others.
I remember being a junior high student (although our town was too small to have a junior high school). I was at summer camp. One day we went with our family groups on a hike. We carried with us foil pouch lunches. The lunches had hamburger, potatoes and carrots and the plan was to build a small fire and cook the lunches over the coals. After watching our counselor try and fail to light the fire, I began to gather moss and kindling from nearby. I took out my pocket knife and shaved a dry stick. I found a small piece of pitch wood and laid a small fire. After the counselor had gone through half a book of matches without success, I started my little fire with a single match and added wood until it was ready to cook the lunches. I remember thinking that it was strange that the counselor didn’t seem to know how to build a fire. I also remember thinking that it was strange that the other campers didn’t automatically gather firewood. They seemed to be waiting for instructions when the situation seemed to me to be obvious.
Over the years at dozens and dozens of camps I have observed that some campers come with the basic skills and abilities to participate in small group work and others seem to lake those skills and abilities. I remember a camp a dozen or more years ago when I had to provide some basic instruction on passing food for family-style dining. There were campers at my table who figured out how to get food from the serving dish nearest to them, but who didn’t think to pass it to others or to ask that other dishes were passed to them. I have no memory of learning such things. It was just a part of the family where I grew up.
Lately, there have been some good articles in the magazines I read about the need for unstructured play for children. In our over-organized world, some children are not given enough time to just play. They have organized activities to fill their days and as a result don’t develop the same initiative as those who are given opportunities to create their own activities. I’m encouraged to read these articles because I have observed the same thing. There are children who don’t seem to know what to do unless given direct instructions from a leader. Youth become involved in our youth groups who don’t have basic planning skills and who expect programming to be provided for them. When asked what events or activities they’d like to pursue, they are slow to answer, wondering why they are even being included in the process. We have to teach them how to take on basic leadership roles. Sometimes they even resent the fact that they are being asked to provide leadership.
While I agree that free play is important in child development, I also believe that work is important. A few simple chores can teach a child a great deal about successful living with others. A preschooler can place dirty dishes in the sink and wipe off a table. They can pick up toys and help put clothes away. Children enjoy real work that contributes to the family. When our children were little, some of their chores required assistance. I would sometimes have to re-wash dishes. When camping, I might have to go around and set the tent pegs a bit deeper. Raking leaves with the kids didn’t always result in less time or even less work for me. But we learned to work together and our children grew up to be people who know how to pitch in and participate.
Decades from now people will recognize the difference that a few chores have made in people’s lives. I’m grateful to the parents of young children who have the patience and foresight to help their children learn how to work with others.