Help Where You Need It

At 12:15 p.m., I weighed the dilemma in my head: lunch, housecleaning, soccer games. How could I time it all "just right" so we didn't get cranky with each other before lunch or after the soccer game? I needed help.

"Boys," I said, "we have to leave for the soccer game at 3:30, and I'm guessing that you don't want to have too full of a stomach -- maybe eat an hour and a half ahead of time? But then, there's the house cleaning that we were going to put off until 1:00. We'll need to be cleaning in that window if we want to eat later. And I don't know how hungry you are right now."

"Yes, eat at 2:00," said Trin. He walked out of the room and headed for the vaccuum cleaner.

Sam hugged me and looked a little mournful. "I wish we could do something fun for a reward," he said. We usually set ourselves up with something preferred to follow housecleaning which does not yet rank at the top of our favored projects list.

"Well, you could use my iphone for awhile if you like --" I started, but Trin cut me off.

"No!" he said emphatically. "We've both had way to much screen time lately. It's time we did something else."

"Oh, okay," Sam acquiesced. He took out the broom.

In the time it took me to wash the dog and clean the bathroom, they had double or triple swept to my standards the entire house (thank God it's only 750 square feet). Trinidad decided he would walk up to the store and buy himself some ice cream which he is likely to share.

Do you know what a relief and joy it is to share with my children the chores that keep our home orderly, functional, and beautiful? And perhaps moreso, it is a delight to share the orchestration of these tasks, to know that we all take part in the same plan of activities that meet a great many of our needs, and that we are willing to stretch together to do the less-preferred activities that make it all possible.

Taking in that celebration.