Apr 16, 2019 3 min read

I can remember being a child and being told to wash dishes, carry firewood or run the vacuum. I remember wishing to be an adult so the drudgery of said chores would cease. I remember thinking that adults were free to do what they wanted to do and when they wanted to do it. I also remember thinking that adults never did anything that they didn’t want to do. I’ve heard my own children say they can’t wait to be grownups so they can have the freedom to choose what to do and when to do it.

It is totally normal, I guess, that as kids we wish for the freedom we believe adults have, but as adults we know it is not true. Adults know that the greatest ruse of our lives has been pulled in the “freedom” of adulthood. Sure, we don’t have to ask permission to go out to eat or to buy a new pair of shoes, but there is a whole lot more involved in adulthood that children can’t even imagine.

Some days, adulthood seems like nothing more than a litany of chores that are never done. Laundry, dishes, paying bills, going to work, running the vacuum, grocery shopping, and the list could go on. I spent a decent chunk of my Sunday cleaning my kitchen.

I had produce all over my island that needed prepped for the week. The dishwasher needed run again (it constantly needs run), and the trash can needed emptied (that, too). After I picked up and tidied some, I decided to bake up the apples that have been sitting out and were a bit past their prime. So, I made a couple apple pies.

Then I took the squash that I had peeled, cubed and cooked, and used part of it to make pumpkin bread. Next, I decided to chop green peppers and onions, which led me to make a pot of chili. When I was finished with the produce I turned around to see the island, which should have been cleaned off, and discovered that the kitchen was just as filthy as when I had started. I had dirtied as many dishes as I had washed. Packages from some of the ingredients were on the sink beside the mixer. There was flour sprinkled on the floor.

I needed to reload the dishwasher, yet it was still humming as it washed the previous load. The monotony of all of it struck me suddenly, and I was frustrated. Then another thing hit me. It’s springtime and the grass has begun to need mowed. It’s nearly time to plow the garden. Hay season is just around the corner. Soon I will be longing for the days when all I had to do was the dishes and sweep the floors.

Instead of wishing for freedom of adult choices, I began to wish that someone would send me to my room, as would have been the case for failure to complete my childhood chores. You see, I’ve now come to believe that most issues can be fixed by a nap.

Laura Zoeller can be reached at zoeller5@verizon.net.