Momservation: Parenthood is a journey made up of little moments that make you gaze upon your child, turn to your spouse and say, “Whose kid is this anyway?”
☺ ☺ ☺
I like to think I’m doing a nice job raising my children. That at this point in the game I’ve firmly implanted some good morals, values and expectations. And most of the time I can look at my kids and honestly feel pride and satisfaction that these kids are going to do alright.
Other times I just pray I haven’t messed them up too bad.
So the other day, I see a teachable moment and pounce on it. I figure I can give my kids a hands-on lesson by showing them what taking responsibility means (instead of yelling it at them while laying waste to teaching them to watch their tempers).
I was doing laundry. I HATE laundry. If I had the money of Oprah I’d just buy new clothes and underwear every day. Or if I had the body of Jennifer Lopez I’d just walk around naked.
So, there I was, wasting my precious time on this earth by Shout-ing out stains, and my kids go moping by because I made them put away their clean and folded clothes themselves.
“Hey, I got a question for you,” I say to them. “Do you think I like doing laundry?”
“No, you HATE laundry,” they say in unison. I’m not sure if I’m pleased with their perception or mad at myself for not setting a good example with a better attitude.
“I don’t like laundry, but I do it anyway, right?” They both nod. “That’s what taking responsibility means. It means doing things because you should, because they need to be done, or because it’s the right thing to do. You may not always like it, or want to do it, or it might be hard and no fun, but you do it anyway.”
This is where my Proud Parenting Moment (PPM) happened. And if there was a font for sarcasm you would know already my kids didn’t suddenly light up with understanding and drop everything to help fold clothes.
No, instead this little conversation unfolded:
Whitney says, “I HATE laundry. I never want to do it.”
Logan then declares, “Well, you better learn to like laundry Whitney, because one day you’re going to be a mom.”
Says Whitney, “That’s why I’m not getting married until I’m like, 64.”
To which Logan replies, “Then you’re going to be a lonely old lady who talks to her cats.”
(Insert sarcastic font here →) So proud. So so proud of the future man and woman I’m raising.
Notes to self: Quit complaining about laundry. Teach children to do laundry. And to correct decidedly off-course view by son that laundry is women’s work, leave this at the front door for Hubby when he gets home:
#CourseCorrection