Work, The Glue that Strengthens Families

    Growing up some of my most fond memories are linked with doing some sort of work around the house with my family. I remember Saturday mornings cleaning the house with ABBA music blasting and singing along at the top of our lungs with the rest of my siblings. We all got to help with meal prep whether we were actively helping prepare the meal or helping to clear and set the table but we all were in the kitchen spending time together. On normal weekdays we all were assigned jobs to help keep the house clean which I didn’t always love at the time but now I really love cleaning my apartment! Each of these memories are full of fun family time and feeling accomplished that I was able to help make something great happen. I do remember sometimes feeling frustrated that I had to do things sometimes but despite those negative feelings, I remember feeling much closer to my family members by the end. I think that because work was such a huge part of my family's life that it became a huge part of how we grew closer to each other! 
    Why would work bring us closer together? One big reason work can have a unifying effect is because individuals learn to cooperate and work together so they can accomplish something great together! Together you are united to get the jobs done, weed the garden, get dinner on the table and that can really impact how family members connect with each other! Even if nobody enjoyed a specific job the act of doing that less desirable job helped us to build strong relationships and feel that we could get through anything together. 
    I think another major reason why working memories were such fond memories for me was that my mom often tried to make the work fun and almost play. We would listen and sing along to music, play like we were maids that had to get the whole house cleaned, and do other fun things to get us to stop thinking about the fact that we had to work and realize that we could have fun despite the not so enjoyable chores. This helped us to see work less as a punishment and more as a fun time with the fam. I think if we had only been told to work as a punishment I would have ended up resenting the work and never would have found it fun. 
    I also remember some of the best conversations I had with my parents growing up happening while we were working side by side! Every year we planted a garden and often I would spend time with my mom weeding it. I loved doing this not because weeding is such a fun pass time but more so because it was one on one time with my mom which didn’t come very often in a house of six kids. I was able to talk with her about anything and we had tons of time to chat through it together. I never complained about weeding the garden like my other sibling because I genuinely enjoyed the work and the time with my mom! Comparatively, my dad and I often would ride horses to help gather cattle on my grandparent's ranch and I always loved getting to talk with my Dad. He would tell me stories of his childhood and teach me little facts about the native plants that I still remember today! These examples and many more gave me one on one time with my parents and siblings and helped me to come to know them on a deeper level than I had previously known! I have seen huge blessings in my life from learning to work in my family early on and have seen those efforts bring me closer to my parents and siblings even today! Work is an important company in unifying and building a strong and healthy family.