Work...

I remember when I was a kid, we used to sing this song (I'm not sure if it originated with Barney or not, but it was at least part of the show.) whenever we were going to pick things up. If you're and 80's or 90's kid I'm sure you've heard it, if not - it went like this: "Clean up, clean up. Everybody everywhere. Clean up, clean up. Everybody do your share." and you'd repeat it a few times as you cleaned. I know it's just a silly song, but I remember it some twenty years later. But in reality it's not about the song, it's about the values it taught me. I feel like I learned to work and to contribute. As I'm getting older I'm realizing what an important lesson that was.

Today it seems like work has become such a bad thing. Most people seem to do anything they can to get out of work. But I think work has very real benefits, especially family work.

• Work teaches you to contribute - to your family, your community and to society in general. Seeing the effects of your contribution can teach you of your worth and value as you see how what you do makes a difference.
• Work teaches you skills. Most work requires that you work with others, so you have to learn communication skills and cooperation. You usually learn from other people so you learn how to listen and to obey for lack of a better term. Sometimes you get to teach others and then you learning teaching and leadership skills. Work can teach patience as well as perseverance.
• Work teaches you responsibility. You learn to help and care for others. You learn to be accountable for different chores or tasks. You learn that some things need to be done, and sometimes they're tedious and repetitive but still important.
• And SO much more.

Work can teach us so many things that really are important to life. When we work together as a family we can learn together. Parents have an opportunity to spend quality time with their children - to talk and make memories, as well as to teach and instill important values in them. It's a great bonding experience and a significant opportunity for growth. So here's to my "some day" family - whether we're cleaning the kitchen or weeding the garden I hope we can learn to the value of work together.