As a family we have been on an extended vacation away from home and consequently our regular rhythms and routines. This has brought lots of changes as far as navigating screentime, content. I will write a whole lot about that soon. One of the things though that has also fallen in between the cracks is our kids participation in day to day tasks.
Yesterday as I was making the bed for our kids I thought wait a minute they can still make this bed even though we are not home. So I immediately reminded them of their daily bed making tasks and this morning when I walked into the room I was pleasantly surprise to find their beds made. (Of course with reminder from dad). While the bed is not perfect, the edges are not squared out – I am not seeking perfection, I am seeking for them to develop a sense of inner purpose.
You see as digital natives – my kids are being born into a life where it is so easy to quickly hop online hoping someone will be a North Star and give you purpose and direction. There are so many shiny objects online, loud voices declaring this is the way to go. I feel when you make that bed every morning you have already “crushed” one goal. One of the greatest challenges young people are struggling with is the feeling of what role do I play here – in this home in my community etc. So I will hopefully get them to keep making their beds and maybe just maybe it may be a stepping stone to push them to seek their own internal North star before they seek validation online.