The Slippers
I paused before opening the back door. I could already
hear the voices of my two boys shrilling through the house
and into the garage: “Mommy’s home! Mommy’s home!” Something
was definitely going on!
Sure enough, I was barely allowed to enter before the human
tornado struck. “Uh . . .” I grunted, staggering to maintain
my balance. “What’s up?”
With the two excited voices stumbling over each other, I had
to really concentrate to understand them: “How much do you
charge for a pair of slippers?”
My eyes swept from the glowing faces to the floor where I
knew I had left my slippers before going for my walk. Oh no,
I thought. It’s backfiring!
I suppose that most moms would sympathize with me when I say
that I am tired of finding clothes strewn across bedroom
floors and thrown into bathroom corners. But what really
gets me riled is the crumpled pile of coats, boots, shoes
and mitts I always have to stumble through just to get into
the house! This was the inspiration behind the new house
rule: Whenever I find clothing lying around, it becomes
mine! The owner of the garment has to “buy” it back from me
at Value Village (Thrift store) prices, and the money is
placed in a special cup, to be used for future clothing
purchases.
The new rule has already proven its worth. The house is
remarkably cleaner. Whenever anything is left out, there is
a flurry of activity, and the offending item disappears. And
as a little bonus, the “clothing fund” has already swollen
to $20.00.
This morning, as I did every morning, I had taken the dog
out for a run before the rest of the household awoke. And as
usual, I had exchanged my night clothing for my exercise
clothing, leaving my night clothing in a neat pile on the
washer. Everything except my slippers, that is! Those I had
left in the middle of the floor! And now I was being forced
to play my own game! Life can be soooooo unfair!!!
A whole bunch of words threatened to bubble forth. Words
like: This game isn’t for me! I’m not the one who leaves my
clothes out all the time! But one look at those bright faces
made me hold my tongue for a moment, and in that moment, a
thousand thoughts flashed across my mind . . .
How often was it that I didn’t abide by the rules I imposed
on my children? Rules like No Eating Between Meals, No
talking with your mouth full, and You have to be in bed at
bedtime—No exceptions!
Then my mind moved on to more important rules. Like No
Lying, for example. Didn’t I resort to lies once in awhile?
What about the time my husband and I were discussing
birthday surprises, and one of them wanted to know what we
were talking about? Hadn’t I responded by saying:
“Nothing!”? Or the times we were importing goods into
Canada, and to avoid paying duty, I lied to the border guard
about how much I had spent.
My mind moved on to other house rules. What about, say,
stealing? The rule was No Stealing! Of course I never broke
that rule! Or did I? What about all the videos we’d gotten
from the library and copied? And the computer programs we
had borrowed and installed on our hard drive? And what about
stealing time? Wasn’t I guilty of making personal calls on
the job? Getting to work a few minutes late? Leaving early?
No big deal!
Or was it?
Why should I require my children to live by a different set
of rules than I, myself, maintained? How could they learn
good morals when I didn’t exhibit them? Why should there be
two sets of rules, anyway?
All of this took only seconds to contemplate, and when my
mind returned to the present dilemma, there were my
children’s animated faces, still demanding to know how much
I charged the last time I found a pair of their slippers in
the middle of the floor. I sighed. Yes, I had to live by the
rules, too! But not just my self-imposed rules. I also had
to live by God’s rules. No exceptions! I reached for my
wallet and pulled out a Loonie (a Canadian dollar).
The eyes sparkled with exhilaration as the boys grabbed the
coin and disappeared, only to return a few seconds later
with my slippers.
How many sets of rules are there in your life, my friends?
Love in Christ,
Lyn Chaffart