Yesterday, after work, I had a ton of things to get done at home. I had a long day at work, still had stuff on my mind, and my usual “top three” chores for the night were all big, plus I had a bunch of non-negotiable’s (laundry and such) to finish before bed.
I cooked dinner. I was short with Brianna, trying to help her with writing while I was cooking, and doing too many things at once. And I felt bad. I didn’t want to stick the kids in front of the TV for the evening again, but I looked outside, and the jumpy in the back yard was full of rain water and bugs and needed to be washed… so I had an idea.
Chad and I changed into clothes that could get wet. I stripped the kids down to skin, right by the back door, and shimmied them into bathing suits. And I gave them soap and rags and turned on the hose, so they could clean the jumpy.
AT first I thought it was a bust. Brianna didn’t want water sprayed on her, and Benjamin was terrified of the whole ordeal. But after a couple of minutes, they started to warm up to the idea… and in the end, they had a blast. And we cleaned the jumpy. And part of the back of the house. And the concrete.
And that’s the story of how a grumpy evening, turned into a happy family evening, with just a little water and soap. And my chores? Waited until today.
I hope these are the types of days Brianna and Benjamin remember. The days we laughed and had fun and did something silly. Not the days I was grumpy and mean trying to get the chores done…