Meaning in housecleaning

The other day my 11 year old son said casually, “I don’t know why you complain about cleaning the house, Mom. It doesn’t seem like such a big job.”

After taking a deep calming breath, I said, “Welcome to your next teachable moment, son.” And so began his (and his twin sister’s) path of enlightenment to learn just how much effort goes in to taking care of our home.

To backtrack, both kids have some chores. They make their beds, tidy their rooms, put their clean laundry away and set the table. But for the most part, my kids live in a world where drawers are always magically full of clean underwear and sheets are always clean.

So next cleaning day, I supervised while the kids cleaned the whole house. They started the morning with bathrooms. This job was quickly determined to be “gross” and “a lot of work.” (My thoughts exactly.)  It was also discovered that the work could be made more enjoyable by writing your name on the shower wall with Scrubbing Bubbles. It took two hours and many more paper towels than could be considered “eco-friendly” to finally finish the job, but they did it.

Next, dusting and vacuuming. Both kids were sufficiently horrified by the contents of the vacuum cleaner and the point was made about how hairy our dog really is. After momentarily leaving the room during this time, I returned to find the two of them suctioning each other with the hose attachments.

After that, my son watered the outdoor flower pots and garden which necessitated a change to dry clothes after completing the job. (I’m not sure getting wet was completely unintentional.) My daughter folded laundry and actually whistled while she worked.

Finally, the kitchen where they jointly cleaned the stove, wiped the counters, polished stainless steel and mopped the floor. Mission complete.

In the end, they really did a good job. And while I think both kids did come away with a sense of how much work goes into maintaining a home, I was probably more “enlightened” than them by the process. I learned that I, like many moms, probably do too much for my kids. They can handle more if I’m willing to give up control. Because I tend to want things done 1) quickly and 2) my way I begrudgingly do all the work when I should really just ask for help.

I also learned that kids have a great ability to find a way to have fun in almost any situation. I guess the “teachable moment” was really mine.

Column originally appears in Current in Fishers http://currentinfishers.com/