To Chore or Not To Chore

A number of years ago we were visiting with a doctor. I don’t recall the exact topic of the conversation, probably something about keeping things going at home. His comment was, “That’s why they’re called chores.” Chores are just something you do, most of them everyday. Seasonal chores, daily chores and some people have weekly chores, and I guess there are some we do monthly. 

Getting the chores done is what keeps things going around the homestead. Chores aren’t punishment, but they can be. Chores aren’t meant to be fun, but they can be. Some think of a chore as a negative, it all depends on how you look at it. 

Frank used to teach his high school kids this story. Picture two guys working on a car, both are changing a water pump. One man is building him a hot rod, and he loves changing that water pump. The other man is working on a piece of broken down equipment, and he does not love the job he is doing. Both are doing the same thing, it all depends on how you look at it. Some kids love feeding their dog, and some kids hate feeding their dog. 

Would you consider making a living a chore? For this conversation we are. Some people love their jobs, some people performing the same job, hate their jobs. I was at a function not too long ago and overheard someone say, ” You’re not supposed to like your job. It’s just a job.” Kind of like chores, I guess, some people like them and some people don’t. 

But it dawned on me that some people don’t do chores anymore. Some people leave their trash where it drops. Some people don’t appreciate anything. I used to give things away to people that I thought were needy, and I quickly learned that when people have nothing invested in something, then it often means nothing. Example: We used to raise dogs, nice dogs and charged a nice price for them, too. But on occasion, we would give a dog to a needy family. Those animals were seldom ever treated well or respected. The folks that paid top dollar for an animal, took a whole lot better care of it. I used to give away a lot of chickens, still good hens, producing. Then you hear talk come back around of how stupid that guy is that gives away things. So I don’t give things away anymore either. Sometimes I may charge a dollar or two, but I don’t give them away.

So, what does that have to do with chores? I think if you do a chore everyday, or weekly, or whenever, you have a vested interest in it. I wish everybody could find some happiness in doing chores. Many a child has been taught to feel that he or she is a contributing member of a family by doing the smallest chore. So, are chores good for you? People that were raised doing chores would tell you, yes, of course they are. People that drop their trash on the floor and wait for someone to do everything for them, would probably tell you that doing chores is stupid or beneath them.

I have only changed a couple of diapers in my life, and it’s not a chore that I would enjoy doing. And I don’t think I could kid myself to where I could find it to be enjoyable, until you look at that smiling baby. Then you know that someday that child will be doing chores, too. I don’t think that our society values doing chores anymore. I wonder if my daddy and all my uncles considered fighting in World War II a chore? Maybe one of those

things that you just do for your country? Yea, I wonder where ‘chore’ picked up the bad meaning along the way? So, is it a chore to load everybody up on a Sunday morning and go to church? It would be easier to stay in bed, wouldn’t it?


Gotta go. Got chores to do.

We’ll talk more later, Frank.