Boring Can Be Fun

I saw a post online in which a parent asked the other parents how much they pay their kids to handle chores. Was fifty cents too much (or not enough) to pay her kids for unloading the dishwasher, she wanted to know. First off, emptying the dishwasher is as terrible as folding clothes, so you'd have to pay at LEAST a buck-fiddy. Second, I'm glad my child isn't old enough yet that we have to grapple with the age-old quandry: to give an allowance or not to give an allowance. But third, I couldn't help but think back to when I was a kid. Once Elizabeth and I were old enough to stay home alone during the summers, our mother insisted, and rightly so, that we handle certain chores. Alas, we weren't as proactive as she would have liked. Now, Elizabeth must get credit where it's due. She was never lazy like me. I was 5 still trying to get my mom to dress me while she, at 2, was trying to button her own buttons. We were told to clean the whole bathroom. I'd ma...

"Your words are your wishes. But your actions show your real priorities." While I cannot take credit for those words of brilliance, I am happy to take full credit for realizing how profound they are. (Winky-face-blushing emoticon would go here to show you I'm being cheeky and humble-bragging at the same time.) I read those words (or a variation of those words--I didn't look it up for the sake of, you know, accuracy ) in an advice column last month (Carolyn Hax at Washington Post) and they have stuck with me. It was in context of a woman exasperated that her sister said she wanted to get married and have kids, but let her ex-boyfriend continue to live with her because he helped with home maintenance and, uh, other stuff. I think the phrase "handy man with benefits" was used. The columnist said, in effect, to get over it. Her sister may wish for a husband and kids, but clearly they aren't a top priority. If they were,  she'd kick out the ex and s...