Friday, May 16, 2008

My Heart Thanks me.....and other miscellaneous items.

Today I managed to get to the pool, in spite of having guests for Shabbat. That makes it the fourth time this week. They opened the outdoor pool, and it's really nice. The girls have been joining me in doing laps. Today we all shared a lane and I started off and was followed by the girls in age order. Tali and Liat soon passed me--they swim quickly. Orli didn't but she definitely won the endurance contest; she swam 50 laps!

It feels so good to do something so healthy, active and fun together. Isaac joined as well, but swimming is not his thing. He went biking, and enjoyed the hot tub and the sauna.

I find Fridays here very tense. There is much to do, and I want it to be a fun day, a family day, because as everyone and their mother knows, there is no Sunday in Israel. On Sunday it's get up and go to work, school, whatever. The post offices and banks are open and it's business as usual. Friday is our Sunday, but Friday, at least for me is the day I prepare for Shabbat. In the states I would do all my cooking on Thursday evenings. In the winter I had to because I came home from work an hour before Shabbat. And in the summer I wanted to, because I wanted to go to the pool with the kids when I got home from work. But I did have a woman who cleaned my home on Fridays while I was at work. I walked in to an immaculate home.

I miss that.

Right now I'm only working 7 hours a week, so it's hard for me to justify cleaning help in the home. It's not that I physically can't do it, or don't have the time for it, I just don't want to do it.

I recently implemented a "toranut" (rotating) system in the house, where the girls have very specific jobs, [not necessarily easy] that they have to do. They each have a chore to do during the week; and then an additional chore on Fridays. I'm embarrassed to say this, but in terms of cleaning they are kind of spoiled because of the cleaning help I had (it was only once a week, but still enough for them never to have to clean a bathroom or dust). So they are mumbling and grumbling about it, but I am trying to be consistent, and firm. It's been a couple of weeks now, and the grumbling is not as loud. And I feel better. Of course it's a good and important thing for them to be full participants in how this household is maintained.

But I should have done this years ago. So, if you have young children at home, be forewarned: start them participating now. Even very young children can do something. Otherwise they get to be pre-teens and teens without having any idea how much work it entails to run a household--definitely NOT a good thing.

But I think I'm going to kill myself getting it done on Thursday's so that Fridays can be Sunday (with of course some time saved to prepare for Shabbat). I just want the day free and clear (is that even possible?)




**Note: I thought this post was going to be about the pool, and exercise and family and friends. But as I started writing it totally went somewhere else, maybe not quite as coherent as I'd like, but I just followed it. One of the reasons I really love blogging.

Have a Shabbat Shalom!

3 comments:

Leora said...

So, if you have young children at home, be forewarned: start them participating now Yes!

But even if you start them young, it's still hard. My mother struggled to get me to clean up my room. I struggle to get my kids to clean up their rooms.

If you have a choice of going to the pool or blogging or housework, which would you pick? :-) I find it a little easier to do housework if my husband is around (he does housework, too). Gives me some focus and meaning, somehow.

SuperRaizy said...

I can totally sympathize with the desire to have a day off from the drudgery of housework. And you're right to train your kids to help- it's their house (and their mess), too. My kids help me dust, vacuum, put stuff away, shlep the laundry, take out the garbage, unpack the groceries, etc. My daughter likes to help with the cooking, and I make my son do the "manly" things, like changing lightbulbs. We're a family, and we have to help each other, like it or not. (Send your girls over here, I'll whip 'em into shape for you ( :
Anyway, I'm glad you got to go swimming!
How did the chicken turn out?

JJ said...

So right! My boys do lots of stuff around the house. Like Raizy said, I tell them that they're part of a family and have to pitch in. Sometimes they grumble, sometimes they just hop to it. I can't wait til they can start mopping floors and cleaning bathrooms!