In my last entry, I spoke about "my way" - about how my way can sometimes be annoying to others. As I continued to think about it, the word obstacle also came up. My way can also be an obstacle or hinderance to someone else's way or the speed in which someone else does things. At times, I can be hard on myself but sometimes, my way is the right way. Sometimes my way is best. Like right now. Right now, my way makes total sense.
Last night, my 8-year old son Spike, decided he wanted to learn how to do laundry and he needed to do it immediately because he had a towel that HAD to be washed. He begged. He pleaded. He wrapped his arms around my waist and tried to drag me to the machines but I stood firm and said, "No!" I was too tired. This morning, he woke me up. "Today! Today, you're going to teach me how to do laundry."
This is every mother's dream right? Your SON, begging to take over the wash. I say, "Yes ladies and gentlemen. Yes it is. It's the fulfillment of a dream and today's the day!" I think about how amazed and grateful my future daughter-in-law will be when she learns what a gift her awesome mother-in-law has given her with this training. So, I gave him a lesson. I taught him to separate the whites from the darks and the colors. We poured detergent and pushed buttons and waited. The laundry turned out great and eventually we went our separate ways.
As I was getting ready to put Spike to bed tonight he proudly said, "I did another load mom."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "I already put a load in earlier and the load in the dryer isn't done."
"Yeah. It's done. I already took it out and put in a new one." he said.
By now, I'm on my feet. "What did you do with it? Where did you put it?" I asked
"It's in my crate." he said, as we walked downstairs together. "I'm doing a load of greens."
Greens?
We made it to my laundry "closet" and I could hear the sounds of water - lots of water - washing I'm not sure what, but I know it's green. I noticed the vast array of green clothing still on the floor and wondered exactly what was in there. I located the mystery crate (which turned out to be his hamper) just as my foot slipped in the puddle of detergent on the hardwood floors....OF MY RENTAL HOME. I explained that it's important to clean up your mess when you're "helping" to do so much laundry and he said, "Don't worry, I'm only washing two things." That led to a talk about monetary and energy waste.
I praised his efforts and initiative (which required a definition of initiative) as I took my wet things out of his hamper and put them into the dryer, because after all, I want this to work. As I was typing this entry I had to stop because I heard some strange noises coming from the laundry closet. He was standing by the dryer and I looked down to find all the clothes I just loaded in there, still wet and again crumpled up in his hamper.
I asked him why he'd taken them out and he said, "I needed to put my things in." I took a look and there they were: his dad's green shirt and his green towel from last night, along with FOUR dryer sheets.
Sometimes my way is the best way. I guess God knew I needed a little pat on the back. It's a good thing because right now Spike's trying to pull me away from my computer. He wants a lesson on washing dishes.
That was great :)
Posted by: Leslie | 07/11/2010 at 05:04 AM