The Gonzalez Family

I recently decided that I needed to figure out a way to be an efficient, organized, clean, and responsible mom (in other words, perfect) without actually doing anything. Ahhh, that would be great. Clean house, weed-free yard, well-behaved children...you get the picture.

In fact, that's not unlike the home I grew up in, thanks to my mom. Now I wouldn't say that my mom was perfect, no one is, but I think she had a few good ideas when it came to motherhood and homemaking. From my earliest memories I can remember doing chores. Mom chose various ways to assign them, but we always had something to do. At the time, of course, I hated them...did the family room really need to be vacuumed every day before school? I mean, it was burbur, for heaven's sake! But now, with my own children to raise, I see that in the midst of our torture we were learning the skills and complexities of keeping a home.

I read a quote the other day that says, “A mother is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary.” Props to my mom for trying to teach slobs how to be responsible. Now the tables are turned - I'm the mom and it's Gibson's turn for chores! I made him chore charts with all of the tasks he's been assigned. Sure, they're pretty easy but they're age appropriate and he's excited about them. I've heard that you're not supposed to do anything for your kids that they can do for themselves. That's tough because it's usually quicker to to it myself than wait for Gibson to do it! But it is important to me that my kids learn to be self-sufficient now, so that when they are grown they can take care of themselves. As they grow they'll learn more and more things - things I won't have to do myself - and my goal will be achieved! Clean house (cuz my kids will be cleaning it), weed-free yard (cuz my kids will be weeding it), well behaved kids (cuz they'll be so busy doing chores they won't have time to act up)!! Okay, so that will never happen...but in the meantime, I'm happy that I don't have to put the clean silverware away!