Every job has its menial tasks. You know...the ones that make you tick at the very thought of doing them...the unfortunate duties. As a wife, I cringe at the idea of ironing. I used to love ironing my clothes. I even ironed my jeans once upon a time. Gasp. Now, it takes every ounce of motivation to get me to pull down the iron. Most days I choose my outfits based on this small criteria: Does it need to be ironed? Also as a wife, I cower at the idea of choosing each night's meal. Such a small decision causes me so much grief. And because I am so bad at it, we go out to eat more than I would like. As a mom, I wince at the idea of cleaning a really poopy diaper. Not just the normal poopy diaper, the really bad kind. The kind that permeates the clothes and stinks up the house. As a student, I hated completing worksheets. They are the perfect example of a "humdrum" activity. You use more brain power writing than thinking. As a missionary, I hestitated each time I had to make the nightly phone calls. Especially when I had to leave messages. I still hate leaving and listening to messages. I am so bad at it. And finally, as an administrative assistant, I shutter at the thought of filing. I have been reorganizing and filing the dental charts for the past two weeks. They were completely awry when I first entered my office. I have tackled 70% of the shelves so far. It takes so long and makes me angry. I wonder if the girls ever learned the alphabet. I strongly dislike this part of my job description. Luckily, once I organize everything, I will be the only one allowed in the filing room. That brings me almost too much pleasure.I really like my job. For the most part, I keep busy and entertained (even when filing). I work with a woman from El Salvador and a girl from Guatemala. We speak Spanish all day long. 80 % of our clientele is Hispanic. I love how much Spanish I am using. I missed it so much. I have reorganized all the grading systems and filing systems in the school. I am beginning to understand the different facets of my job and feel more comfortable each day.
So now that you know what I do all day...what do you do and what is the menial task you loathe? You know you have one.
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ReplyDelete(Sorry for the previously deleted comment. Not sure what happened.)
ReplyDeleteI loathe to do dishes. The very thought of it makes me want to eat berries and nuts and meat off a stick, like they must have done before dishes were invented.
I also have a distaste for folding clothes and ironing. I'm generally saved from the last task because Fred does his own ironing and sometimes mine when he feels I need it (bless his heart), but I, being the procrastinator that I am, generally wait till the last minute and don't have time to iron, so I developed the habit of spraying my clothes with a little water and tossing them into the dryer. Terrible-I know.
Dr. Israelson from BYU once said that to become like God was to find joy in the menial tasks. Afterall, what does He do but listen to prayers all day and answer them. (That is obviously the watered down version of his comment.) It appears that yet again, I'm a long way off from becoming like Him.
Thanks for the post Janine.
i don't really mind doing the dishes, doing the laundry, taking out the trash, wiping the table and counters, straightening up, etc.
ReplyDeletei do not like sweeping under the table.
i hate it. i don't know why, but i get so frustrated that after every single meal there are crumbs and big chunks of food under the table. i mean seriously, take the food from the plate and put it in your mouth. how hard is it? j/k ok seriously i know they're little and they're figuring it out, but let's just say jeffrey has had the fortunate task of sweeping after dinner lately. hehe.
ironing and cleaning the tub...usually rob does those things (phew)
ReplyDeleteYou've got to give these crazy hygiene students a break...we're so stressed out. i'm still not sure though why they wouldn't be able to file things properly.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of hygiene...the most menial part of my job is cleaning the operatory over and over again each day. i see around 15 patients so that means i clean my operatory 15 times a day and it gets so old!