Dra-Ma-Tic

As cold weather draws closer and closer the Bank’s house seems messier and messier. The rule of thumb should always be to “leave it cleaner than you found it.” This aspect of my job takes up a huge part of my day, but as Michael gets older he can help (and little Jane likes to think she’s helping too). It’s the little things that are such help. With reminders, he’s pretty good at taking plates to the sink, putting his and his sister’s milk back in the fridge, dressing himself, etc. HOWEVER, picking up blocks, legos, toys, books, dirty clothes, stuffed animals is a totally different story. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it is just more time consuming/boring or maybe it’s too overwhelming to look at a room where you can’t even see the floor. I used to help him pick up, but he was very good at working slow and making sure I did most of the work. So now I just offer loving & motivating words :-)

Today it turned out dra-ma-tic! I asked him to pick up the living room while I was making lunch. He turned to face the living room and scanned it corner to corner. Michael spun back around to face me, let his head fall back so he was looking at the ceiling, and said, “Ohhh, I just give up.” My first thought was, “How can you give up on something you didn’t even start?!?!” But I kept it to myself. Eventually he starts picking up the blocks……one at a time……with a toy garden hoe.

These are the moments I start to twitch a little. Then I just want to call my parents and thank them for all their patience. I decided to keep making lunch without saying anything, this time. I put his lunch on his plate and remind him that it can wait, but it will be getting cold.

Amazing how fast those little hands can work when lunch is actually on the table.