Doing Undone Chores

 

To my son Tommy,

This morning, I emptied your lunch box, yet again. By my count, that is the twenty second time I did it this year without raising a stink with you. You probably won’t even realize it. Mind you, I am taking this actual year and not the school year. So, we are talking about maybe forty school days.

I often remind myself that I was once an inconsiderate teenage boy. I often remind myself that your grandfather had to do similar acts of kindness to save his ornery son from himself. But your grandfather was a more patient father than I am, because I sometimes lose my shit when one of the few tasks and chores assigned to you is constantly left undone.

You don’t have many chores, and the ones you do have are really for you. You don’t really have any initiative to do other tasks or chores that aren’t specifically assigned to you. In fact, you have the ability to step over or around anything in your way instead of picking it up. I talk to other parents and some relay similar stories about their teen, while others lie.

Still, no matter what you do or don’t do, no matter if you realize or don’t realize how much I help you out by silently doing your tasks, I still love you. But one day, when you are lucky enough to be a father, I hope you run in to this frustrating problem with your kid. By the way, you didn’t hang up your book bag or jacket again today and added a new twist spreading books and papers on top of the washer. Sigh.

Sincerely with love from your dad,

Leo