Remember those housewives of the fifties? June Cleaver springs to mind. Okay, I know, I know -- none of us are June Cleaver, and a lot of us don't want to be.
But in June's defense, she did have a point. How often do we bend over backward for neighbours, or people at work, or help out a stranger at the store? Well, I hope we can say sometimes. You know, those random acts of kindness that make the world go round, pay it forward and all that. But then we get home and the sweet tone becomes a harsh yell, the willingness to help goes out the window and we shriek "I'm busy -- do it yourself!" I'm guilty of it as much as anyone.
I want to be a little more Cleaverish. I'd like to remember that my husband and children are a blessing. After all, if we can treat people we barely know with kindness, can't we do that much for our nearest and dearest? I am constantly reminding myself that my family and I are a team, not enemies. Whenever I feel my ire rising at my husband, I stop and think -- why don't I want to help him? Is there any good reason not to iron his shirts or take out the teeny bag of trash when it's full? The only reason that comes to mind is pride, really, and that makes me feel pretty low.
So I iron the shirts, not because he asked me to, but because I want to. Martha Peace, in her book The Excellent Wife calls it going the extra mile. I choose to do deliberate acts of kindness to those I can have the most impact on. And who knows just how far that will go.
2 comments:
Some nice thoughts Erin,
And my condolences to Kevin for the tragic loss of his hands. No longer being able to do simple tasks like ironing must be very frustrating for him. :-)
Mike Bell
Eclectic Christian
Oh, Kevin's hands are fine! Over the past year he's built a playhouse, a crawlspace, a walk-in closet, drywalled and plumbed my laundry room, made Caiti a bed, installed a vanity and kitchen cabinets, dug a garden, and right now he's in the process of tiling the bathroom on top of bringing home the only bacon we get! His hands are fine. His feet, on the other hand, were a near thing when he fell off a roof last fall! I can do a little ironing.
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