Hi kiddo! I have to tell you something and I hope that when you read this, you were never aware of it and it is new news. OK, here goes...your dad and I are not the cleanest of people. I don't mean like cleaning our bodies - I mean cleaning our house. We hate to clean. We put it off until the last possible minute when we are having people over. We know that this has to change with you coming. We can't let you crawl around in a dirty house but, most importantly, we can't raise you to be like this :) I don't know if you will ever watch Charlie Brown but if you do, we can't let you walk around like PigPen. haha.
I lucked out because your Gramma Ruth raised your dad to know that he has a responsibility in the house. Some men - even in this generation still think maintaining the house is women's work. You will be taught that the house is half your responsibility even though you are a boy. (Side note - sometimes, like when your wife is pregnant, it is 100% your responsibility) You will also learn how to cook even though you are a boy. Your Grampa Lang and Grampa Larry were good cooks and neither of them were any less manly. Grampa Larry even did the laundry and cleaned the house.
So, where will you fit into this? Well, I do believe in you earning your keep around the house and you will have chores that are age appropriate. However, I also hope to remember to be fair in assigning them. I think part of the reason that I don't clean is because your grampa Larry was very strict about my chores. I had to do a ton - even looking back as an adult, I think it was a ton. Not only would I not get my allowance, I would be grounded from my friends. Like I said, I do believe in chores but I think the volume of chores he assigned me were too many. You will be expected to pitch in and you will probably have a little chore chart. We can negotiate the allowance but (imagine this) I also have an opinion on that. Let's say your job is to take the dogs for a walk around the block everyday. You don't get an allowance for that. However, if you help out and go above/beyond and offer to take out the trash, then we can negotiate the allowance. Got it? If you need more money, get a stinking job. Your dad was delivering papers at the age of 4. Just ask him. :)
I guess the key to all of this is that we want you to be independent. You can't be independent if you don't know how to cook your own meals and clean your own house. Our hope for you is that you will find someone that will share your life, your love and the household duties with you. But, if that doesn't happen right when you leave the house, you need to know how to survive. Personally, I also hope you meet someone that balances you out. With your dad and I both being messy, there is no one to step up and force the issue :)
