We've had a few more 'lessons' since last post. One Saturday, I marched all the kids in the bathroom to teach them how to scrub the tub! Boy, were they excited!!! (Surely you can sense the sarcasm here!) Well, they just weren't getting it done on Saturday. They all do awesome with the mirror, sink, and toilet, and a mediocre job of emptying trash and sweeping and washing the floor. But it seemed like they'd either conveniently "forget" to scrub the tub, or just sprinkle some AJAX in and call it good. Oh no! That is not acceptable! Not on my watch! No siree! My mama didn't teach me to clean like that, nor to expect or accept such sloppy work. So from here on out we will be diligently scrubbing the tubby! Can I get an "AMEN!"? Whew!
I'm really not a drill sargent but I do expect each child at his or her own age and ability level to comply. I tried to make my demonstration humorous so they'd at leat "humor" me by staying in the bathroom. And successfully speaking, I think it went rather well. The 12 and 9 year olds for sure can do this. And with a little guidance and assistance as needed, the 6 year old will be flying solo before too long! How 'bout that? 3 of the 5 kids competently cleaning the bathroom completely on their own? And one at age 6!?! Gotta be proud of that! Thanks, Mom! I owe it all to mi madre. She had me cleaning bathrooms so thoroughly at about age 8, the next guy in line to "Saturday" clean it hardly had to lift a finger!! Hahaha! But I would seriously spend at LEAST an hour on my Saturday jobs. "Little Miss Perfect", as I'm affectionately known by my siblings, was very thorough indeed. I know my kids are not like me in every way and I know they'll probably take some short cuts and maybe "forget" a few things, but they are good kids and when they want to get their jobs done, they are excellent cleaners!
The second 'lesson' happened just this past Saturday as J2 was cleaning the upstairs toy room. I didn't witness her vacuum job by sight, but I ALMOST heard the vacuum running. So I went up to see what was going on. She had indeed turned the thing on and had most definitely moved it around, but she just happed to miss the edges and about 9/10ths of the rest of the room!! I saw one "rainbow" pattern of vacuum marks and that was it! Uh..... excuse me? You call THAT vacuuming? tsk tsk, little girl. She said to me in her very best practicing-to-be-a-teenager voice, "Then YOU show me how to do it!" Well, she asked for it, right? So I said, "Well, okay. I'll hold the vacuum here and you hold it here and we'll vacuum it together!" Perfect teaching moment! Just what I've been praying for. So we proceeded to vacuum from the far end of the room, up and back, up and back, making sure to overlap the lines and get as close to the edge as possible (Someday I'll teach her to actually use the edger tool, but it's kinda broken now). She mostly just gave me that weak "I'm gonna make you do all the work and enjoy being pulled along for the ride" look! BUT, then she vacuumed her own bedroom and did a MUCHO better job. She'll get it! How had I not taught her to vacuum beforehand, though?!? Crazy!
The third lesson was something I learned. As siblings, we made a conference call recording for our mother! We all took turns sharing sweet, funny, endearing memories and all the wonderful things we appreciate and admire about our dear mom! It was bitter sweet for me. Sweet to have all the sibs on the same line, trying to get a word in edgewise and sweet to reminisce about the good ole days. But afterward, I thought about all the amazing things my mom did for me and the incredible example she is and I thought, "I don't even come close to measuring up to my mom!" I am WAY too selfish with my time and WAY too stubborn to let go of certain things. Plus, she's 5'4" and I'm only 5'2"!
But then I realized I AM trying to do my best! I'm not in the same situation as she was back then and I just can't expect myself to do exactly the same things she did. And I WILL be proud of all my accomplishments and successes and I'll remember that I can do hard things and that I LOVE my kids more than they know and that I want them to succeed in life and I'll do whatever it takes to get them there. So even if my daughter doesn't vacuum perfectly, even if the tub gets rings, as long as my kids know who they are and why they are here and that they are loved, I'll consider myself a winner, just like my mom! I love you, Mom!
1 comment:
Good job, Boof! I am so grateful that mom and dad taught us how to clean! I know people who don't have a clue how to REALLY clean and it's a blessing that we were taught. Way to teach your kidos! The conference call was awesome. I keep thinking of more memories, things I wished I said, but I guess I can always right them down and give them to her or something. We sure had a good example of a mother, huh? We're so BLESSED!
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