Jobs Revisited

About a year ago I posted this post about family life and the responsibilities that were given to the kids in my family growing up. I found myself thinking about it after dinner and thought I would revisit the ideas that were written.

We had pot roast tonight for dinner. It was perfect. Trey brought August home from a cold night of soccer ready to eat a warm, hardy meal. Conversation was flowing, we talked about our days, about the good and the bad. August is still struggling with finding the good in his day but honestly, it's so much better than it was this time last year. It was so encouraging to re-read the old post and realize that things are shifting in our family. The kids are getting along much better these days, August is sticking up for his little sister on a regular basis...things are good.
After dinner, much like the post from last year, I cleared my plate and allowed Trey and the kids to clean the kitchen.
While I can't say that it went as smoothly as I think it went when I was growing up, each of my kids tackled a part of cleaning. Hazel is great at clearing the table and wiping it down. August is a master of rinsing off the plates and putting them in the dishwasher.
I vividly remember being given the task of washing the dishes and thinking I had completed my task once the sink was empty of dishes...only to be called back into the kitchen by my dad. He explained (again and again) that I am only done with this task when the sink is CLEAN, not just clear.
I had to chuckle as I sat in the living room uploading photo evidence of the cleaning of the kitchen when I heard Trey call August back into the kitchen only to explain the same thing to my son. Remind me to inform Trey that he too will probably have to revisit this idea with the boy again and again.