Managing the home

This month is about exploring the options of being a better home manager. Some may have thought I took it as a compliment when my husband said "everything falls a part when I am away from home." Quite the opposite, the woman of God had already warned me to pause and become a better home manager to prolong my life. However, I dipped my feet back into the workforce unprepared. I grew up being taught at every stage of my life. Somehow I managed to think that doing everything I could made up for the things I would no longer provide being at home. I spent years doing everyone's laundry for example. Yet here I am keeping up with the laundry of seven people, instead of allocating responsibilty.

So moving forward the 14 year old and 17 year old will do their own laundry and this will teach them team work. I would wash their clothes and put them in the dryer and say "please put the next load I have washed into the dryer and push the button." I would get home and have to rewash because no one would keep it moving. Then I tried one load and said just turn it back on if it does not dry and come home and it would be as I left it. That was my boiling point, I said no one can push a button? This was not every night but when you have a large family you have to keep it moving. It was the little things that helped me realize they have to learn team work and have to be more accountable. I love my family and they do wonderful things to help all the time but when we were teaching them we failed them somewhere.

I would always finish what they left incomplete and my husband would say "No" let them do it. I figured they had school work and sports. However, he was right because they can operate as individuals but I should have found balance because we have to work on the team part. It takes a team to raise a family. My friend said "Girl I would have dropped them to a laundromat and told them I will see you when it is finished." It is in those moments you realize Dad's tough love isn't so tough. It is actually what is needed to build on their character. So I will spend this time getting a little tougher and exploring allocating responsibilty more.