A Short Story

Saturday morning I was trying to quickly clean up the house before Stephen came over. Not that Stephen really cares, but it gave me the motivation I needed to get it done. Nathan had been getting into things, going back into our room, and generally being in the way. I took the kitchen trash out to the garbage can and heard Nathan rustling around in our room when I came back inside. I headed back to the room, determined to catch him in his mischief and give him a good reason to “straighten up.” I got back to the room and discovered him struggling with two Walmart sacks full of trash. He had gotten the trash out of the front bathroom and our bedroom and was heading to our bathroom to get the rest. Needless to say, my frustration completely dissipated. I helped him combine the trash into two sacks, put his socks and shoes on (he HAD to take it outside), and let him put his sacks in the garbage can. How do you stay frustrated after that?
Nathan is such a busy little kid, but he truly loves to help. Lately I have not been as faithful to keep him busy as I ought to have been. I don’t think I should have to keep him busy all day, but one or two good tasks seem to help him stay happy. Of course, all of this takes planning. Two-year-olds don’t do well helping with the spur-of-the-moment cleaning. I have to be ready to have him help me. I have to be ready for the task to take two or three times as long as it would normally. Sigh. I need a plan. And I’d really like to get into more of a schedule over the next month or so. We’ll see! :-)