One of the great traditions from my childhood that I have continued into my own family life is "Saturday Workday".When I was a kid, one really didn't make plans for Saturday morning. We knew that we would be cleaning the house and yard and helping my parents in whatever project was going on at the time.This was so consistent that it really went without saying and became a lifestyle. My mother has NEVER considered herself to be a "Housewife". She always described herself on every form requiring an occupation to be listed as a "Homemaker". She didn't spend her entire week cleaning the house in a frenzy but instead, peacefully went through her day in a relaxed way preparing meals and raising children.My father worked hard and went to night school to further his education for many years.Therefore, the bulk of the cleaning and the home maintenance chores were left for Saturday mornings.At that time, every member of the family would pitch in and get the job done together as a team. I remember my father exclaiming that it made no sense for everyone else to be relaxing while one person was working.The idea being that if we all worked together, we could all relax together when the jobs were done.
I have been truly blessed in that my husband was willing and able to adopt this tradition when we got married. I am not that good at cleaning but he is. Now my daughters are good at it, too. Homeschooling during the week allows us almost ZERO time to get any cleaning done except for the kitchen and daily "picking up". Vacuuming, the bathrooms, the garage, the yard, trash to the dump, car maintenance, swiffering, organizing rooms and putting away loads of washed and folded laundry are reserved for Saturday mornings and even into the afternoon.When we all work together it is amazing how much gets accomplished and what a team building exercise it is.The house is then ready for Sunday and we can all relax with a great feeling of success and pride in a job well done.
With this long history of working together on Saturdays, it was no surprise that it was our pleasure to help Jeff move for the last two Saturdays.While I stayed home to care for the youngest members of the family and got the cooking and laundry done, Larry, Jeff and the rest of the family helped Jeff to pack up and move his things from one place to another.This whole job was done by our immediate family only. I think that Jeff was amazed by how willing everyone was to help him.When hard work is done by a group with a cheerful attitude and a "can-do" spirit, it is no longer work but FUN! The best part was, that three of his sisters used what John Paul the Great called "their feminine genius" and unpacked ALL of his things, dusted them off and set his new room up like a showplace! This is something that he could not or would not have been able to do himself. It was their gift to him and he is most appreciative.
I am so proud of this family effort that began and completed this project with such a dramatic result. Being trained in the habit of Saturday Workday allowed us to be available as a team to help one of our own with his work as he has helped us with ours so many times. We have spent some of the best times with our large extended family going to their homes to help them with large projects, including building two homes from the ground up. This is the direct result of my parents' training us to WORK on Saturdays and to not expect to be entertained. I look forward to the good times that we will have as a family in this lifestyle of working together to get the job done on Saturdays as more of our children establish their own homes. All they have to do is call us, and it will be our pleasure to help them!
