You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension. A dimension of sound. A dimension of sight. A dimension of mind. You're moving into a land of both shadow and substance of things and ideas. You've just crossed over into... The Twilight Zone.Yes, my friends, I feel like I'm in The Twilight Zone this morning. At just past 9 am, I gently wake up to Gabe coming out of his room. I hear no sniping, no arguing, no "But it's my turn." That's right y'all, except for the noise of Gabe getting out of bed, I wake up to QUIET. Gabe came into my room, climbed up into bed with me, and snuggled for a few minutes. I didn't hear any yells of "Mom, I'm HUNGRY." We've had no arguments over what gets watched on TV or what games get played...truly The Twilight Zone.
However did this unusual state of affairs occur? Well, yesterday my dad drove up to my house and picked up Marty and Joey. Earlier this summer, my mom gave my nieces a chance to earn some money by helping her teach swimming. This week, my boys are getting the chance to earn money by working their asses off helping Grandma and Grandpa around the house and the yard. They will only spend the first half of the day working but, their work day will start by 8:30 am. After lunch, they will get to go to the pool and do other fun and relaxing things. They will get a chance to work and earn money and, I will have a chance to get things done in their room here.
See y'all, Marty's sloth tends to be contained and limited, but, Joey's slothful tendencies will grow and evolve, gathering steam, until they become a runaway train with no hopes of recovery. I am going to take a before picture and, hopefully, before they come home, I can take an after picture of their clean room. Yes, I do make them clean up. After all, they are 12 and 8 years old. However, their idea of clean and mine are vastly different. And, when they are present for the cleaning process, every scrap of paper, every piece of toy becomes vitally important and they can't bare to part with it. It is much easier to adopt a scorched earth policy without the boys around to help.
So, I'm going to enjoy the relative peace and quiet this week and, between relaxing and entertaining Gabe, I am going to reclaim the older boys' room. I'm looking forward to a productive week. Hope you are too!
What plans do y'all have for this week?
10 comments:
Aren't all kids like that, though? Every single piece of paper, scrap of string, broken toy... all become "important" and their "favorite" when it comes time to really *clean* their rooms? LOL I "cleaned" my niece's room when my brother moved and ended up with a 30-gallon trash bag full of "important" (i.e. garbage) stuff!
My plan for the week is, "don't die."
Girl, I am experiencing the same feelings right now with the girls being over a friend's house. Such peace and quiet. Won't last much longer for me though! Enjoy your week :)
At first I was shuddering about the implications of Quiet (I have it on good authority that Quiet can't be good), but now I'm cheering for you AND for your productive sons.
9am wake up time? Totally jealous. Hmmph
I like, "There idea of clean and my idea of clean are different." Sounds like me and my mom (who things a toothbrush must be applied to unreachable crevices, lol).
You deserve a little peace and quiet. Enjoy!
I'm finally catching up after my vacation, so please excuse the long comment...
--LOVE that the boys are "working" and you're able to have some YOU time!
--Happy (late) bday to Vic!
--Desitin on furniture = gross
--Bra stories = funny!
--Meeting fellow bloggers at a BBQ. AWESOME!
--Damn Duck...had me giggling out loud.
--Free book websites! SWEET! Can't wait to check them out!
--Very moved by the "No Less Than a Woman" song, thanks so much for sharing!
--Really like the "Operation Beautiful" idea, and can't wait to participate in leaving notes.
--LOVED the tote bag you created and the special WWII pics of your grandfather.
--Interesting food for thought with the Mojave Desert Memorial information.
Whew! I think I'm caught up now! Sounds like your summer has been eventful and fun. :)
I hope you enjoyed your day! As I was reading your post I kept think, "Ahhhh, she's going to clean their rooms!" I used to live in fear of my mom cleaning my room and me not being able to find anything. However it never motivated me to clean myself. And yes I will likely be one of those parents who will occasionally clean my kids rooms.
I love gutting the kid's room when they're gone. It SO much easier! I can to throw stuff away and sadly, it excites me ;o)
Good luck!
*HUGS*
Coming to this post via Bingo...
I think its great to give kids chores and I like the fact that its stated hours of time to do the chores and then they get to "play". A nice balance. Isn't it wierd when kids start acting mature? At least with my son--it doesn't last too long...but then again, he surprises me sometimes!
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