It's All How You Look At It

A few weeks ago, I would have looked at that mess and crumbled inside, knowing full well I would be left cleaning up the aftermath of fun and games just like always! Well not anymore. I have left that behind. I don't recall taking part in that mess making. I allowed it. That is what makes me cool. I allowed them to "ransack" the living room for a couple of reasons. The main reason being, it kept them from the TV most of the day. The other reason being that they were all playing together and laughing. I gave them a specific time at which the mess would have to be cleaned up and the room brought back to its original the state. The state in which I had it before the games began. I had to stick with my rule that they had to clean their messes before they could move on. It was nearly time to start with the clean up when I was asked if they could play on the Wii. "Yes," came the reply. Followed quickly by, "as soon as the living room is returned back to normal." with a bit of a sigh, they headed back into the living room facing the daunting the task of cleaning up a full days worth of play!

I stayed behind for about three minutes while I tidied the little mess in the family room. After all, since most of their play was in the living room, the family room was a breeze of a clean up job. After I finished, I went into the living room to check on their progress. I found one on the floor picking up papers, the three year old kind of wandering around, and the other standing in the center and chatting away. Hmmmm....now what do I do? I quickly took up residence on the couch and began supervising. In 15 minutes the living room was back to its original glory. They did a good job. And the most important thing, they learned a truly valuable lesson today. And so did I.