Feed the dog.
Dry the dishes.
Tidy your room.
Clean the bathroom.
Walk the dog.
Sweep the floor.
Put your shoes away.
These are some of the chores that are regularly expected of my children. Not surprisingly, the response to the request is almost always grumbling. But eventually, after said grumbling fails, Mommy usually wins.
Lately Sheldon has come up with a new strategy.
Last month:
Me: Hey buddy, can you unload the dishwasher before you go for your bike ride?
Sheldon: Do I have to? I always empty the dishwasher. Every day. It's not fair.....
End result = a lot of whining and then it gets done.
This month:
Me: Hey buddy, can you unload the dishwasher before you go for your bike ride?
Sheldon: Can I ask you a question?
Me: Sure.
Sheldon: Is there anything else that I could help you with? I find that I've been emptying the dishwasher quite a bit lately and I'd really like to do something different.
Me: Well, okay. If you'd like to wash the dishes that are in the sink, that would be great.
Sheldon: I kinda get grossed out washing those dishes. You know, all the scraps of food on them.....
Me: Would you rather empty the dishwasher?
Sheldon: {Sigh} Okay.
End result = much discussion and then it gets done.
Notice a pattern?
Cutting the grass is one chore that Sheldon enjoys doing. That's the one he volunteers to do to get out of emptying the dishwasher. And I get a kick out of watching him get all geared up. He puts on his beloved old shoes (the ones he's put tape around because there are holes in the souls), fills up his camelback (because we have all those acres to cut?) and puts on his tunes. It takes longer to get ready for the mow than it actually does to get it done.......
The reason that I'm babbling about chores today is because this morning, when I finally decided to stumble out of my summer morning sleep-in, I was reminded of what is quite possibly the best thing that my kids do for me. Something that they don't even consider a chore, and yet it makes me so darn happy: they make my coffee. Since I've been on holidays I haven't set the timer once. And yet every morning I wake up to a big pot of fresh coffee - made just the way I like it.
It's a great way to start the day.
Until I start to hear, "I'm bored........."
2 comments:
You're just getting up at 11:00??? I want a summer morning sleep in!
Ha! I figured someone (you) would notice that! I took the picture at 11:00 - I'd actually been up for a couple of hours and was half-way through the pot of coffee by then - when I realized that my post needed a photo. So there you have it.
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