So you might be wondering how the Soclof Cleaning Your Room Day went.
Here it goes:
I made the announcement on Friday that we will be cleaning from 1-3pm on Sunday. Here are the responses:
E rolled his eyes and said okay and T was kind of excited.
A said, “Why do I always have to clean?”
I said: “Actually, it is not just you. We are all cleaning on Sunday.”
M said, “If we clean our rooms now, won’t they just get messy by Passover?”
I took a moment to reflect and admire his logic. Because, really, what kind of mother would I be if I did not appreciate his thought process. Yes, I know he was just trying get out of cleaning his room. But still, it wasn’t just a regular complaint or protest. He was trying to wiggle out of his job in a way that really made me think!
After a moment I said: “Yes, however if we do a good cleaning now, it will be much easier to clean before Passover.”
Sunday came and we had to reschedule the cleaning because of other errands that came up. So between 12:30 and 1:30 we had 3 kids hard at work. (My older son in the end had some unexpected schoolwork that had to get done. But he has given me his word that next Sunday he will be cleaning his room!)
I moved through the rooms, helping out where I could.
Some of the complaints:
“Do I really have to wipe down the inside of my drawers?”
Me: “Yes, you do.”
“I am done, I don’t need to clean out the closet, it is all clean.”
Me: “No, it is not. You most definitely need to do your closet.”
“Can’t we just do this next week?”
Me: “No”
I don’t think I was handling these complaints in a Parent Educator type of manner. At some point my husband said, “Um, where is the nice lady, who writes all the nice parenting articles? Do you know where she has gone?”
Me: “She is on vacation. She is on a chaise lounge reading a good book at the beach. She is not coming home until Passover is over!”