Proverbs 17:22: “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”
Dishes piled in the sink, bills three feet high, potty training gone wrong, car repairs desperately needed, clothes spilling out of the baskets into the room…can anyone relate?
In this crazy world called life, I have a tendency to have tunnel vision. My schedule on a typical week looks something like this: Mondays and Thursdays are wash days along with any other day that the clothes are overflowing. Fridays are reserved for grocery shopping and running errands in addition to work that is left over from the Tuesday through Thursday high volume ‘work from home’ days, which leaves the weekends for playing catch up with cleaning the house, organizing the clutter, yard work, more errands, more laundry, and the list goes on. Oh, and I almost forgot all the extracurricular school activities that are crammed in at night several days out of the week, spilling over into the weekends as well. Where is there room for fun…Or is this the fun that I am supposed to be having?
I am learning that if I do not purposefully create fun memories and encourage lots of laughter, then life will get really boring really quickly. My mom taught me from a young age that a mother is the heart of her home. If a mother has an attitude of fun, then the whole household tends to be calmer and more relaxed. Forgiveness comes quicker, feelings are hurt less often, and mistakes are quickly forgotten.
That is why I am trying to remember not just on special occasions, but as part of our regular routine, to keep that fun alive. Baking cookies can turn into a “sweet shoppe,” complete with cash register, customers, and gratuity (if the service is good enough). Cleaning the house can be an opportunity to practice your vocal skills by turning up the radio, wearing earplugs if necessary. Yard work goes much faster while playing the craziest mind games you can imagine. One of our favorites is the alphabet game using candy, DVDs, TV shows, or exotic animals as the categories. Even driving back and forth in the car on various errands is much more fun when everyone talks in a different accent for the day, looking for different state license plates, or guessing closest to the time we will finish in a particular store and are back in the car.
What are some ways that your family takes life from ordinary to extraordinary, turning mundane tasks into opportunities for laughter, fun memories, and a more loving atmosphere? Not only are you passing on a great trait to your kids, but they say, “laughter is the best medicine,” so you are improving your health at the same time. I will choose that over a run around the block any day.