Dear God,
Something happened today that I do not think has ever happened in the history of man kind, it was the kind of something that you know you can never repeat, unless you knew the exact reason or formula for it. What happened was this, both of my middle children cleaned their rooms without an argument, without me having to ask more then once, and not one bit of whining. I did not even bribe them with the promise of a new and shiny trinket.
I know all of you parents out there are scratching your heads and thinking "she has to be lying, there must be something, promise of a new Xbox game, a new Hannah Montana pair of shoes, perhaps even the ever sought after trip to Carvel, but no, none of this took place, I never even had to raise my voice, threaten to sell all of their toys on Craigs list to fund a maid, or to give them away to the kids down the street, which worked up until they were old enough to realize the kids down the street had their own toys.
All I did was say "ok I want your rooms cleaned today before 4 pm, you pick the time that isn't going to interfere with any pre planned battles on Halo 3 or any fun game time on Roblox", and it was done. The sound of the vacuum cleaner is now ringing in my ears as the last kids finishes up in her room.
I do believe I know what the answer to this mystery is, something I am hesitant to admit but it is the fact my husband has been away. Working out of town for 5 days out of the week has let me do something I have never been able to do with these kids before and that is parent without an opposing party. My husband is the spoiler, the indulger, the one who sticks up for them when they whine. He was an only child to a 100% italian family, he walked on water and his mom brown bagged his lunch for him till he was an adult and working full time.
Am I happy about this turn of events? I am. Do we miss him? More then ever. But within every cloud there is a silver lining, and this silver lining is cleaned and vacuumed.
Love,
A Mom