Managing...

I was struck this morning by how my role as a mother has been changing. When my children were young, my days were filled with laundry, sweeping, cleaning, cooking, tying shoes, choosing outfits, changing diapers...

And as they get older, I'm still doing many of those things, but in more of a "manager" role. We always share family chores. Emptying trash cans, washing counters and tables, dusting furniture are all easy kid-jobs. But this morning as we did our Saturday morning cleaning, our children took on some of the bigger jobs....sweeping the floor, cleaning the toilet, doing dishes....with mom looking over their shoulders, showing them how to get the broom in corners, reminding them that re-organizing the barbies is not on the list, explaining that you have to actually TOUCH the toilet in order to clean it, breaking up the occasional argument, and singing the praises of using HOT water to wash dishes.

The morning To-Do list is covered with scribbles -easy jobs claimed first by the more experience family members....completed tasks crossed off triumphantly....and today my name is not next to any of them. Looking at the list, one child judges the equality of work done this morning and wonders why mom didn't do anything.

Sigh.