No, my house did not turn into one of those hoarder households (although it did feel as if it came close).
No, my house did not burn down.
I went into our finial day really wondering what the results of this little experiment were really going to be. Were we going to see the results that we were hoping to? We these kids just fine with living with such mess and filth?
When Abby got home from school we gathered everyone together and had a family meeting. Bret had all the kids close their eyes and imagine a world without their mother. He asked questions like, "What would you miss? What would be different? What would things look like?" Everyone started laughing at that one and Bret said, "Oh wait, you don't have to imagine that one, look around!"
We had a great family discussion about the week and how everyone was feeling. We talked about how the spirit in our home was affected. We talked about how it had come to the point where no one even wanted to be inside anymore. The kids would come home from school and either go to their rooms or go outside. We talked about how everyone really missed family dinner and sitting around the table together.
He told the kids that we had been seeing a real lack of gratitude in our home and that my "vacation" was really a gratitude experiment. Bret expressed to them how lucky they are to have the mother that they do and that 99% of the children in the world don't have a mother that does for them all that their mother does. (I wouldn't go that far, but he did.) It meant to much to me to hear him express these things to the kids.
After about 20 minutes of talking and discussing the week, we all rolled up our sleeves and got to work. An hour and half later we sat down around the dinner table in a clean kitchen and enjoyed a wonderful warm delicious meal together. Everyone was saying how wonderful things felt, how nice it was to eat good food, how great it was to be together.
The real test was going to be in the weeks that followed. Where we going to be able to notice a difference?
I am so happy to report that there indeed has been a stark difference. I feel as if they have grateful hearts. They are quick to help out. They are quick to show appreciation in the words that they say and the deeds that they do.
I know this will be a lesson that they will never forget, partly because they want to make sure it never happens again! :)
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