Cruel and Unusual Punishment?

About a week and a half ago I asked my daughters to tell me their least favorite job to do around the house. Since the summer is when we usually rework our chores list, they were all quick to tell. They were very surprised to find out their least favorite job would become their main job for the week. It meant Sarah had to unload the dishwasher every time, Rachel would have to take care of every animal, Hannah had to sweep the kitchen every time, Mary had to put away all of the folded laundry, and I had to wash the turtle tank. There were moans and groans and even comments of cruel and unusual punishment. I felt like the girls all needed to see that chores sometimes are monotonous and boring and had to be done with joy. By the end of the week and a few tears later, we all learned some things. Sarah learned that she actually likes unloading the dishwasher and keeping the cabinets neater (she gets to do it all summer now), Rachel learned she still doesn't like getting up early to take care of the dogs and cats, and I learned some creative ways to clean the turtle tank without touching the turtle. (Did you know that turtles hiss?) Mary needs another week to learn her lesson. A close friend told me once that when your children complain too much about chores they may have too much time on their hands. I don't know if that's always true, but if they see chores in the right perspective they may have a better opinion about them. Hopefully they have a little idea of I Corinthians 10:31 now.