Is there a star in the sky?

18 years ago

...Because I think that I just witnessed a Christmas miracle, coming out of the mouth of my slobby DH.

Yesterday am, while attempting to pour creamer into my coffee, I realized that I couldn't lift my left arm without pain. These past few weeks of scrubbing have done a number on my old, out of shape bod. (Like the Karate Kid, 'wax on, wax off, OW!')

Sat down to drink it with DH and eventually the kids came downstairs. Dh looked at them and said "see how clean the house is? We're ALL going to help Mommy keep it this way".

*Plunk, thump*....(the sounds of Mommy falling over and fainting onto the floor)

I have no idea if that was just a meaningless stroke on my DH's part, but that is the FIRST time I've ever heard this coming out of his mouth!!

I have to tell you, getting up THIS am and loading all of the dishes into the dishwasher...and running a load of clothing and immediately folding them, it feels GOOD to be in a 'clean house'.

Yeah, sure, I still have projects for days, but the basics are ALL DONE AT THE SAME TIME. I cannot remember when I last experienced that. It certainly wasn't in this state!

And if I can actually get them to help me a little? Boy howdy, things are looking up...

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Comments (5)

quiltglo
18 years ago
Picking you up and brushing you off!

Now that you have everyone's attention, what are you going to put in place so they can help you keep it looking nice?

I have a weekly chart that I've adapted for each of my kids. 11 yo obviously has different things than the 5 yo.

Now is the time for some type of routine to get in place. It does feel good, doesn't it?

Gloria
talley_sue_nyc
18 years ago
Yay--nice to have all that effort noticed, right?

I'm w/ Gloria--time to create a routine, etc., that will help them stay on track w/ doing their part.

A few rules--like picking up all toys after dinner, or before bed. Or assign each kid a bathroom to wipe down, maybe.

Or pick a Saturday of every month that is "all of us work together to deep clean a room" day.
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teacats
18 years ago
Way to go!!!! Excellent results for all of your hard work!

My Dh is a packrat -- but knows that a basic daily routine can help this small house keep looking nice. And he can find things too!

Every day routines really really help establish good habits!
Julie_MI_Z5
18 years ago
Wow, I'm so jealous I'm speechless!
caseyb
18 years ago
Tell DH it meant a lot that he said that. And then ask him which thing(s) he would like to be responsible for. Will it be dishes after dinner paired with cleaning down and tidying the counters? Will it be garbage twice a week plus doing a run once a week through the house for throw-away-ables? Will it be distributing folded laundry on a near-daily basis (depending on you, presumably)? Maybe he can suggest what the kids would each do - if you get him engaged, he may help you maintain discipline with them. That's probably worth more than him doing a great deal of actual cleaning.

Way to go. What a great thing to hear!