I took my daughter to the dentist recently. While we waited, I took out my book and she did her thing. Though engrossed in the story I was reading, I was suddenly captivated by a strange and beautiful occurrence.

 There was my seven year old straightening up the waiting room. She was sitting on the floor, sorting through the magazines that had been carelessly strewn on the cheap wicker coffee table. She was putting them back into two neat piles. She worked quietly and with focus.

 I flashbacked to our coffee table at home which she has taken over with her containers of crayons, pens, and pencils, coloring books, Highlights, and journals. It is always a mess, and she rarely makes a move to organize it. If she does clean up, it is usually at my request, under protest, followed by reluctant acquiescence.

 After the magazines are organized, she fluffs the pillows on the wicker settee, and plumps up the seat cushion with a little shake. And so she moves along, chair by chair, pillow by pillow. As she goes about her business, there is a very cute smirk on her face, and she is pretending that I am not watching.

But I am wholly mesmerized by this phenomenon of unsolicited straightening that happens every so often. Last I remember, it was at Wal-Mart. While I waited in line to pay, she aligned the candy bars and gum. I remember wondering why this doesn’t translate over at home to her bureau where baskets of hair ornaments and other miscellaneous kid crap could be better organized.

 I think the secret is to make cleaning part of play. My daughter has a passion for role playing. If we play “Restaurant”, she will without contest become a great waitress, set the table and help out in the kitchen. The other day, I felt overwhelmed. I invited her to be the school custodian and help me clean the classrooms. She happily agreed and grabbed the Swiffer and put on a pair of rubber gloves which looked ridiculously too big and adorable on her little hands. Then she emptied all of the little trashcans into the big one in the kitchen. This was extremely helpful.

 This way of being is not foolproof. Sometimes I am able to direct her dramatic flair toward my advantage, and sometimes it backfires. When it works, it is so cool because she has fun and I get help.

 As I tuck her into bed, I notice lots of clothes out of place. “Hey, tomorrow let’s pretend that you are a manager at Limited Too and I am your assistant, and the big boss is coming to make sure the store is in order…and we have to make it pretty and….”

 

 

Jane Dagmi is a single working mom with two daughters and a lot to say, if she would only sit and write it down.

Read her at www.missblogworthy.blogspot.com and www.underweardiaries.blogspot.com  and in the  archives at www.countryliving.com/janes-blog..

 

 

 

Filed under: Fabulous Guest Bloggers, humor for women, kids