I BRING THIS UPON MYSELF……
With three TWEEN girls, you
would think I have some help around the house. I mean they do have chores, are supposed to do their own laundry (can you find the
key word there?), and clean their own rooms. You would, then, wonder why I have
so much stress when cleaning the house. It might have something to do with the
fact that I have three very busy girls and I am a complete softie. You see with
sports, church, youth group and other random things that ‘come up’; I sometimes
give them an out on their jobs.
They all rotate
between the kitchen, bathrooms, and living room. I believe the kitchen is the
hardest, so I will help with that but they have to get it started before I jump
in. I can get the whole thing cleaned and dishes in the DISHWASHER in less than
30 minutes. I haven’t figured out how it takes 3 hours for a fourteen year old
to do the same, yes no hand-washing if it fits, hence my confusion. Sydney, 11,
can get the closest to my 30 minute time. However she does need help putting
anything up in the upper cabinets since she is just over 48 inches herself.
That is unless she climbs onto the counters like she is wont to do if I am not
looking. (I get visions of horrific falls and flashing blue lights when she
does this.)
Courtney is
somewhere in the middle on chores. Her room stays clean and laundry done if she
can’t find that special shirt she needs for tomorrow. She does a fantastic job
with the living room and good on the kitchen, as long as there is music
available. We have tried giving them assigned chores. This sounds great on
paper, but works for approximately 1 week. Whining, complaining, goofing off
and just plain refusal are what happen until intervention is necessary. So now
they rotate daily. Kitchen is the hardest; bathroom(s), are easiest and then
living room. If they don’t complete that days’ chore…everyone does the same one
the next day. This is great for the person with the bathroom if the person on
kitchen duty doesn’t get done.
Now you are
probably wondering why I subject myself to this stress. If I am able to finish
all three rooms in under an hour, why not do it myself? I’ll tell you. I work
40 hours a week, drive 52 miles to and from work and am the chauffeur for three
girls among other things. My husband is also able to clean, but he is a full
time student and a substitute teacher. Also, if we were to clean and do their
laundry, what happens when they leave home? I believe they need to know this
stuff. I do not want them coming back because they can’t. My mom has apologized
to my husband for never teaching me to cook and clean. I make an inefficient
housewife, but Kenny says my cuteness makes up for that.
So I pray, do
deep breathing relaxation techniques, and stand firm. If dinner is very late
and homework needs completed after a long practice…they get a pass till
tomorrow. Me and my adorable husband grumble and goof off through them and
everyone has a late night. When they do get everything done and homework completed
before 8pm, we pop some popcorn and have movie night!
Till next time….
