This just gets better all the time

Nobody said motherhood was going to be easy. My mother often tells me, when I complain to her, "This, too, shall pass."

Well, mom is right. Nobody ever graduated high school wearing diapers.

Another thing that happens sometimes? You can get even with your kids.

Now that I have kids of my own, I understand the kinds of things that drove my mother crazy because oftentimes, the same things really push my buttons.

This year, it's nose, chin, lip, and hand prints on the patio door and picture window.

Slowly, as the steam builds and pushes out my ears, I'd grab the windex and a rag and spritz & wipe away. A day or so, or even an hour later, the prints would mysteriously reappear. I'd threaten, "Next time I see prints on the window, YOU'RE GONNA CLEAN'EM OFF, NOT ME!"

Naturally, the prints would reappear and I would clean them off.

Earlier this week, I glanced at the patio door and noticed nose, lip, chin, cheek, hand, whatever prints on the door, inside and out. I grabbed the windex and a couple of rags and announced to the kids that after breakfast, I had a fun thing for them to do.

I handed them the windex and the rags, and instructed them to spritz and wipe the smudges. My daughter made half-hearted wipe, leaving a few drools of windex behind. "Wipe that again," I said, "it has to be dry completely."

"I thought you said this was gonna be FUN," she retorted.

I paused for a moment. "Well, isn't it? Someone thought it was fun for me, I thought I'd just share the joy."

That made her pause for a moment.

My son - he's Mr. Helpful anyway, so he wasn't much phased by this additional chore.

I do find it interesting that when the kids take over things like cleaning windows they've smudged, or sweeping the kitchen floor, they suddenly feel ownership. "I just SWEPT this floor," my daughter wailed, as she noticed dirt tracked across the kitchen.

I chuckled evilly to myself. Ah ha. If you want things maintained a little bit about the house, set the kids on it. When they have to do the work of cleaning up after others, they'll appreciate a bit more the work you have to do.

Now, if I could only get them to do the bathroom. . .