It Went Well!

Our first "Friday Cleaning Day" went very well. I'm so proud of the kids for working so hard on their rooms today. I knew Madison was old enough to do it, but really wondered if the boys were. Oh, they have been making their own beds and keeping their rooms straightened for a while, but I didn't know about the dusting and vacuuming. They have helped me some with doing both of these, but have never been asked to do their entire rooms on their own. Well, they did great and seemed to enjoy it. I really thought that I might have to go back over some of it, but I didn't. It is very hard for me to hand something like this over to them because I am picky about things...tend to like things my way. It is a "letting go" thing for me to accept things that are not done exactly as I would have done them. I won't say that I have totally learned to do this and feel okay about it, but today was good for me. It was a start. I made some mistakes, but it was a start.
I was really encourage by Jeff's mom today when she told me that I was doing the right thing with the kids. She had three boys and taught them all to do for themselves around the house as well as help her out. I remember being very impressed the first time that I had dinner with them. As soon as we were all finished eating, Jeff and his brother both got up and started clearing the table. The entire family helped clean the kitchen instead of everyone jumping up and leaving it for mom to do alone. It has carried over into all three of her boys' adult lives. They are not afraid to iron, clean, cook, etc. They have been good husbands and dads. I want to also raise sons who are willing to do things, not only outside of the home, but inside as well....where the responsibilities are daily. I know that Madison will learn it from me through role modeling, just as the boys will learn other things from Jeff. I'm thankful for the man that Jeff is, and I am thankful for his mom for helping him to become that man!