The Golden Rule - a Principle for Everyone

My daughter (who has dish duty in our home right now) went on a camping trip for two days last week. This equates to either Mom doing the dishes or assigning somebody else to do them. I did them once. However, when I saw this the morning before she returned home...

... I admit, I was tempted to leave them for her to do. Then I thought of the following talk: Finding Joy through Loving Service. One quote I especially like is,

"Charity begins at home. The single most important principle that should govern every home is to practice the Golden Rule—the Lord’s admonition that “all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." M. Russell Ballard

If I were returning home from a camping trip, would I want to come home to a sink full of dirty dishes? No!!! So, I asked for volunteers and we went to work. Interestingly, the "volunteers" ended up being my two youngest, 2 and 4. 

First Task: Empty the Dishwasher
I put this guy to work on putting the silverware away. I was a little nervous when I saw his smile of delight in seeing sharp kitchen knives in the utensil basket. I brought the knife block to him. (This brought back memories of my younger brother threatening me with a sharp knife when we were little. However, he is a normal and wonderful father now!) This presented the opportunity to reinforce knife safety.

Second Task: Rinse the Dishes
Four year old boys are great scrubbers! They really get into it, at least this boy does. I gave him all of the messy bowls and pans, filled them with soap and water and let him go to town. NOTE: He is in his PJ's - Perfect! He has to change out of them anyway so it doesn't matter if they get all wet. (I did try to minimize the water mess)

Next Task: Load the Dishwasher
This is where I put little lady in the mix. She was amazing at putting the silverware in the dishwasher; very methodical and organized. However, I handled the sharp knives!

Last Task:Finishing up
A two year old is the perfect person to put in the soap, close the soap door, close the main door and push the button. 

She didn't stop there. She had to hang up the cloth to dry but it had to be just right. She spent almost ten minutes making sure both ends were even!

Serving our children is an important part of being a mother. I know we do this every day, but looking for ways to make their lives a little easier is an important part, too. The Golden Rule - it applies to us parents as well.

More to Come...but until then, Stick-to-it!