She noticed that many of the chores that they were given as small children went un-done later when they were all older than the age young enough to have been doing them. She speculated whether they were chores created to train the little ones some work ethics, and get them ready for real chores, or if they were chores designed to keep the small ones out of mischief, so the older of the kids wouldn't need to look after them. The main chores consisted of care of animals, the land, and each other. She doesn't remember any sort of arguments amongst them. She said that they never worried about what was fair, and supposed that they felt like they were all given an even shake. They (siblings) had a sense of protection amongst themselves that seemed to go beyond what parents do for their children today. Meaning, they were loyal to each other even if that meant hiding something from their parents. They watched each others back, and truly adored one another. When I asked why her parents weren't the ones with that protection role she said that they were protective, but they worked all day everyday, and often they only had each other. She remembers her oldest brother to be the one they"d run to if they got hurt, or just needed a hug. He is where most of the affection, and guidance in her childhood came from. "If we needed a bumped noggin rubbed, or wanted to hear a silly made up story, then George is where we always went to" He worried still about them when he was dying. I changed the subject at this point because I was certain she was going to cry.
My 16 year old subject Sheena, doesn't think that work is a big deal either. My guess is that it's because she's never had to do it. She babysits her 9 year old sister, and keeps the kitchen clean, but only about 60% of the time she is supposed to. She complains about doing both. When I asked her if they were really that big of a deal (her chores), she giggled, and said, "No" her response to my question; why do you complain so much about them then? She said, "Because I shouldn't have to do those things.
