August 25, 2011
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I’m going to start charging
My Dears,
Yes, you heard right.
It’s gonna start costing you.
Sock balls in the laundry basket-$2
Towels on the floor-$1
Unmade beds-$3
Dirty socks on the kitchen table-$3
Jackets & Bibles left in the suburban-$2
Clothes that you wore for two hours on Sunday morning crumpled into the laundry basket next to the muddy jeans-$3
Shoes kicked off right inside the door in the pathway where we all have to walk-$2
Unreplaced toilet paper rolls-$1
Unfed dogs at noon-$3
Unclosed bread bags-$2
Half-drunk glasses of milk left on table-$1. (full of cookie crumbs-$2)
Milk pitcher not returned to refrigerator-$2
Cookie containers not tightly closed-$2
I know you think this is steep. But considering the $3 cookie dough icecream cones I bought you the other day, I think it’s perfectly reasonable.
Besides, I could use a little spending money.
HoWeVeR…..
If you should brush your teeth and go to bed without being told
Or voluntarily get up and start clearing the table after supper
Or get off the computer at the exact moment that your alloted time is up
Or not complain about the unfairness of life when a sibling gets invited to a sleepover and you stay at home
Or come out to the garden and quietly help pick beans
Or set the table at 5:45 without prompting
Or sweep up the kitchen floor after a meal because you notice it’s dirty…
We will negotiate.
Because I am not hard to please. Not at all.
AND if you grow up someday
And are not scarred by all the mistakes I made
And you come back and say “Thanks and I love you and you did your best, Mom.”
Your debt is erased for all time.
XOXOXO,
Mom
Comments (21)
I like the way you think
Love this! Maybe I should use something like this, wonder if things would change. Hmmm….
I have tried things like that with smaller penalties
. It works well but gives mom just about as much work as the extra laundry. I do think it makes them think and helps them to be responsible. Maybe I need to incorporate it again. I was thinking now that the kids are in school I need to go up to the boys room and eliminate all but about 3 outfits and maybe then we would have more organization.
I love it!
exactly!!!! No wonder we’re tired all the time.
I remember being so fed up with school age children’s careless ways too. The problem with me was the consistency that I needed to see it through when I decided it’s time to change…Usually other happenings came along and all my grand schemes went kaflooey.
I can SO relate to this and I love how you wrote it. Especially the part at the end about them overlooking our mistakes…and that making it all worthwhile.
I am extremely frustrated these days at the messes that my kids are constantly making. Sometimes I just want to scream. Yesterday I found SNOT on my bathroom wall. A big ugly disgusting glob of snot!! How did I get there?? I inquired of my boys. Well, apparently while they were in the bath tub, Derrick had some snot he needed to get rid of and he tried to “fling” it into the toilet. But missed. OK, that’s bad enough! But shouldn’t the next step be the clean it off of the wall??? Oh, no. Wouldn’t wanna do that!! That is just one small example…my life sometimes feels like it consists of cleaning up other people’s messes and left behind trails. Even though I get them to help a lot, sometimes it is just easier to do it myself. Ugg…
imagine how rich we’d be if we DID charge.
My mind has been running the same direction…so glad I’m not alone. Stand strong for mothers everywhere.
LOL! Love this. I think I’ll print it and post it on all the walls around here.
That is steep. When I first started reading through I was thinking its this going to fit the allowances ? We just have the 50 cent penalty for clothes being turned inside out. That really helped. AT the end of the wash day its like child you owe me $2 and another 50 c. My jar is by the washer and I buy laundry soap with it. Do that a couple time and I rarely have clothes turned inside out. ( Especially socks thats the worst) And the money comes from their play account. Not the saving or the give.
Some times though you just wish so bad for them to grow up and other times you see them growing up way too fast and you want to keep them little. I often thought about that with dirty hand prints on a clean window. Will I one day like Arla Stutzman wish for little childrens dirty hand prints on the windows ? They do sometimes stay on for a long time. Not always because I love to see them but, just cause they haven’t been washed off yet.
Just came to let you know I may very well print this and hang it in every room of my house. haha!
I think I’llk frame this and hang it in my house, no, wait, in every room of my house! Love it!
I suspect no actual money will ever change hands. Feels good to air it though, doesn’t it?
Like!!! I was smiling thru it all… I think all children must be alike.
luci, this is beautiful!!
@appalolly - hilarious, audrey!!
so funny and i love how you wrapped it up! perfection.
LOVE it!
i cracked up with the title and the first few sentences. because SoMe mom i know just recently started picking up the clothes left on the floor and bagging ‘em. and it costs to get them back. that’s what.
but then your last words brought the tears. because really? if they can know they ARE SO LOVED and say thanks?!!! well…
I love this, Luci.
I LOVE it!
I think I need to do this at my house. 