I have always been slightly obsessed with efficiency. My main approach to all things in life, big or small, is how to make them more efficient. Thankfully, I also have an innate desire to make things beautiful, too, (oh -- and comfortable) so the efficiency thing doesn't get FULL reign, but it still a mighty force in my life.
And I think much of my love of all things efficient began to fan into flame as a kid when I read the book "Cheaper By the Dozen." If your only exposure to this story has been the movie that came out a few years ago, then basically you have no true exposure at all, since the only thing the book and the movie have in common is the fact that there are 12 kids in each. The book is the true-life story of a family raised by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth in the early 1900's. Frank and Lillian were both well-known pioneers in the industrial engineering field -- basically they were very good at making things efficient in businesses -- and at home, as it turned out. Lillian became one of my heroes, when I saw how prolific she became with her research and her influence.
Even in college, I still was an enthusiastic fan of the Gilbreths, especially after a management class that we took in which we learned about their contributions in motion-study, etc. In fact, I have a distant and vague recollection of my friend Trey (also a Frank fan) and I tackling a course project that involved improving the efficiency of the cafeteria dishwashing process. I have no idea if we made any impact whatsoever on that process (I'd like to think that we found the one best way to do it, and that they're still using that way today) but I do remember loving to pretend I was Lillian.
One of the great joys of parenting, of course, is getting to read the books that you once loved with your children, and seeing if the stories have the same effects on them as they had on you. Strider and I have just about finished "Cheaper By the Dozen" and I must say, his enthusiasm has been pleasing to watch. He has proclaimed it one of the very best books we've ever read, and I can see him taking a lot of new perspectives from it. At the dinner table, he reminds us of the funny ways Frank Gilbreth used to enforce good table manners, and we hear "Not of general interest!" quite often as Strider tries to emulate their family's mode of centering on good topics to discuss at the table.
He also came running up to me one day to show me that he could get undressed for bed faster than he ever did before, based on his new "system." (The system involves him pulling up his shirt with one hand while simultaneously pulling down the shorts and underwear with the other hand) And, to my great joy, when I suggested a new method for taking off one's socks at night to put in the laundry (which involved NOT turning them inside-out), so as to minimize the labor at the other end of the laundry process, he very happily agreed that this was a better way and should be followed immediately!
Strider has also announced that he wishes he was part of a family with 12 kids, too. But since I forgot to ever become prolific with my research and influence, and therefore we can not afford to have a cook, a maid, and a groundskeeper as the Gilbreths' had, his wish is very likely to go unfulfilled.
But at the very least, perhaps I will help to raise another efficiency-loving generation... even if it's way, way less than a dozen.
And I think much of my love of all things efficient began to fan into flame as a kid when I read the book "Cheaper By the Dozen." If your only exposure to this story has been the movie that came out a few years ago, then basically you have no true exposure at all, since the only thing the book and the movie have in common is the fact that there are 12 kids in each. The book is the true-life story of a family raised by Frank and Lillian Gilbreth in the early 1900's. Frank and Lillian were both well-known pioneers in the industrial engineering field -- basically they were very good at making things efficient in businesses -- and at home, as it turned out. Lillian became one of my heroes, when I saw how prolific she became with her research and her influence.
Even in college, I still was an enthusiastic fan of the Gilbreths, especially after a management class that we took in which we learned about their contributions in motion-study, etc. In fact, I have a distant and vague recollection of my friend Trey (also a Frank fan) and I tackling a course project that involved improving the efficiency of the cafeteria dishwashing process. I have no idea if we made any impact whatsoever on that process (I'd like to think that we found the one best way to do it, and that they're still using that way today) but I do remember loving to pretend I was Lillian.
One of the great joys of parenting, of course, is getting to read the books that you once loved with your children, and seeing if the stories have the same effects on them as they had on you. Strider and I have just about finished "Cheaper By the Dozen" and I must say, his enthusiasm has been pleasing to watch. He has proclaimed it one of the very best books we've ever read, and I can see him taking a lot of new perspectives from it. At the dinner table, he reminds us of the funny ways Frank Gilbreth used to enforce good table manners, and we hear "Not of general interest!" quite often as Strider tries to emulate their family's mode of centering on good topics to discuss at the table.
He also came running up to me one day to show me that he could get undressed for bed faster than he ever did before, based on his new "system." (The system involves him pulling up his shirt with one hand while simultaneously pulling down the shorts and underwear with the other hand) And, to my great joy, when I suggested a new method for taking off one's socks at night to put in the laundry (which involved NOT turning them inside-out), so as to minimize the labor at the other end of the laundry process, he very happily agreed that this was a better way and should be followed immediately!
Strider has also announced that he wishes he was part of a family with 12 kids, too. But since I forgot to ever become prolific with my research and influence, and therefore we can not afford to have a cook, a maid, and a groundskeeper as the Gilbreths' had, his wish is very likely to go unfulfilled.
But at the very least, perhaps I will help to raise another efficiency-loving generation... even if it's way, way less than a dozen.
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