I hate chores. I know that at my age I shouldn't call them
chores but that’s what they are. Cleaning, organizing, putting away,
straightening up… any of it. I don’t find it fun. My mother finds cleaning
cathartic, but unfortunately, I did not inherit this gene. I hope that my kids
did, so I don’t have a son or daughter-in-law mad at me in 30 years, but in
case they didn't, I thought I should give them a little push in the right
direction.
We try to be consistent with them in picking up their toys,
putting their dirty clothes in the hamper and dirty dishes in the sink, that
type of thing. But Cole recently started two very important chores- taking care
of a plant and a hermit crab. While on a school trip to a farm, each child was
given a watermelon plant to take home. And on a recent trip down the shore,
Cole was able to get a hermit crab like he does each time we go. (This time he
got one with a soccer ball painted shell and named him Soccer Player. Very
creative. Haha.) So every afternoon, he checks on Soccer Player’s food and water
supply and then he checks the moisture of his plant.
Cole gets to learn about responsibility and Mommy gets to daydream about the day the kids are old enough to scrub toilets. It's a win-win!
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