It all started with our mom, and her commitment to how things are to be done. At the end of every annual summer beach trip ((26 years worth,), we all knew what to do. Some of those trips happened while our mom was still alive, and many of them after she left the planet. Looking back all these years later, if memory serves, I usually took the kitchen, emptying the fridge, doing final dishes, wiping down counters, and packing the coolers. My sister worked on the bedroom we shared, threw loads of towels in the washing machine, and tended to the details of the “when you checkout list” provided by the owners. The kids managed their own rooms, took out trash, tidied up living room, checked for anything that might have been left behind. They lowered the American flag out in the yard, and folded and put it away, already anticipating the next trip. Blinds were pulled, wood racks replenished, floors swept, carpets vacuumed, deck chairs and tables neatened up. It was a group effort, and we all did above and beyond what was required, everyone pulling their share, and all with the same goal: Leave it better than we found it.
It was a message that stuck.
Others may think it silly. I mean, aren’t there cleaners that come in to do all of that? Isn’t that what the cleaning fee is for? Yes, and yes. But it isn’t about that. It’s about not leaving things for other people to handle, just because we can. It’s about knowing that how we leave something matters, whether that’s a conversation, a career, a conflict, a community, a country, or a beach house rental. It’s about making the choice to leave something better than we found it, because we can.
Looking back at those annual trips, what is true of a beach house rental is true of a life.
All of life, in some way, is ours to tend. And in the tending we have the choice to leave things better than we found them, because we can.
