observed something unusual Dad was wearing a suit He doesn’t usually wear a suit 2 You want to look professional for your week at B-Dale Engineering Mom said That was it Dad was going back to work Dad is retired So normally he stays at home He usually does all the cooking and a lot of the cleaning and stuff But sometimes he takes a temporary job for extra cash You kids are going to start helping with dinner Mom said starting our family meeting Sunday night is family meeting night In a family with seven kids meetings are necessary for things to run smoothly Actually meetings are necessary to avoid chaos Dad is an engineer He is very organized He
makes precise meals I was curious to hear how the kids would be helping I have it all planned out Dad said He tacked a chart to the refrigerator The five oldest kids will cook dinner Monday through Friday Mom and I will cover the weekend
We were listed on the chart by age The columns on Dad’s chart looked something like this Only Dad’s chart had two more columns In the fifth column he listed the ingredients And finally in column six were the cookbook and
page number 3 I studied the chart Being the fourth child I did not get to cook until Thursday I couldn’t wait to get in the kitchen and start brewing something up Dad worked his kitchen counter like a chemist works his bench I was hoping I would get to mix together some liquids and solids and create a chemical reaction 4 I would get to be a helper starting on Tuesday Every good engineer Dad began and scientist he said looking at me has to learn to work with a team Looking at the chart I wondered about the teams I also wondered how the teams would work together
