"No dying until you've finished your chores."

That is what I told Jeffrey last night as we really cleaned up after a DELICIOUS Thankgsiving dinner that Rob nearly made single-handedly.

As Jeffrey was sweeping he woefully declared that his arms were about to give out, that he had a headache, that his hiccups had only just abated, and a couple of other bodily grievances.

At first I applied the "you may not play the victim role" tactic:
"I have a headache, too, Jeffrey, but the work still needs to get done."
"Yup, this is hard work, isn't it? But it's part of being a family."

But when he said his arms were about to give out on about his fourth round of complaining, I laughed out loud and exclaimed, "I think Jeffrey is dying. Hey, you can't die until you finish sweeping."

Ha ha ha, I'm so funny.

But hey, he stopped complaining. Once he sort of collapsed on the floor, and I was quick to remind him, "No dying until you finish your jobs," and he quickly explained, "I'm just sitting for a moment!"

And then I heard it. The sound & action that every mother wishes for. Jeffrey grunted and spoke out loud to himself something to the effect of "Ok. Gotta get my head in the game and just do it."

HE DECIDED HE WOULD PLUG IN AND PLOW THROUGH the chore. And he got up and did it! In a matter of minutes!!*

Aaaaaaaaah. : )







*If only the kids would realize that in the time they complain, drag their feet, whine, etc (see my all-time FAVORITE parenting comic), they could have completed any requested tasks 3 times over and been off to play.