Our work ethic is something that carries us through from adolescence to our adulthood. How we handle our obligations has been planted in us when we were old enough to learn that what was worth having, was worth working for.
“HOW DO YOU VIEW your life? – POETIC BLOOMINGS MEMOIR PROJECT
Part 12: It’s a Chore – Did you have chores growing up? Did you have a favorite? Did you hate doing them? What is a chore for you now? How has it prepared you for handling things now? Write about it.
MARIE ELENA’S MISSION:
TAKE IRONING
Why is it that everything Mom did
Looked like so much fun?
Washing dishes, stripping wallpaper,
Scrubbing floors, hosing down the house –
She made it all look delightful.
Take ironing.
I clearly recall the sound
Of Mom’s clothes sprinkler,
As she shook it like a salt shaker,
Sprinkling water on the clothes
Before pressing them.
What fun!
Oh, the excitement the day she entrusted me
With ironing Dad’s handkerchiefs.
Oh, the letdown when the novelty wore off,
And “fun” transitioned to “chore.”
Take ironing.
Please.
Copyright © Marie Elena Good – 2012
WALT’S WORK:
WHOSE TURN IS IT?
The kitchen was a ghost town
whenever suppertime came.
The calendar upon the wall
emblazoned with each name.
All the siblings had a chance
to lend a hand in kind.
To think that they would follow through,
was surely out of mind.
The first name was the set-up man,
to set the places right.
The second name was the “washer,”
(this one stayed out of sight).
The third would wipe and put away
the dishes from that night.
I made my bones by being home,
an enterprising lad, who traded on
their malcontent (I didn’t think it bad)
to offer to take someone’s turn,
of course there was a “fee,” but they
were glad to give what they had
to lay their burden on me. I made
a fortune (for a kid), which to me was fine.
When Mom would ask, “Whose turn is it?”
I always answered, “MINE!”
Copyright © Walter J. Wojtanik – 2012
