You can't hurry love

My mom was and still is a modern-day Wonder Woman

Mom’s well-earned wrinkles and gray hair belie the busy, vibrant life she once lived raising 13 children. Even in her day, she was an anomaly. Having such a large family today is virtually unheard of. “How did she do it?” I’m always asked.

First of all, she and Dad made up their minds early to have a big family. In fact, they planned to have 17 children (12 sons and 5 daughters). When they ended up with only 7 boys and 6 girls, they joked about falling short. 

Dad had just one older brother and a twin who died when they were about seven months old, so he felt he missed out on the fun that comes from being part of a big family. Consequently, he always wanted to have his own big family. Fortunately for him, Mom was a willing partner who was also extremely organized, smart, and capable.

"Lather. Rinse. Repeat."

By nature, work can be repetitive

“Lather. Rinse. Repeat.” Those circuitous directions have been printed on millions of shampoo bottles for decades, leaving us wondering when the repeating was supposed to end. Work—especially the work of cleaning—seems to be, by nature, a very repetitive endeavor.

Repetitive work can lead to greater efficiency. Hoping to prevent boredom, I used to create job charts for my kids that would rotate them through a myriad of household jobs in a week’s time. Then another mother told me she gave her children the same job for an entire month! As it turns out, the repetition turned her kids into experts. They became both proficient and efficient at completing one specific task quickly and well.