Saturday, September 19, 2009

Returning the favor...

It was cleaning day today in the Jennings house… Oh boy!! All the fighting, screaming, and temper tantrums! (And that was just me!)

It took me back to my childhood. Saturday mornings would be our cleaning day. Dad used to wake us up with his ear numbing loud whistle… it was the morning bugle call they use in the Army. Just to give you an idea, he used to whistle loud enough that we could literally hear it three blocks away! He would plow through the door, whistling his loudest. He would flip on the lights, open the shades, and tear the covers right off our cozy warm bodies! Oh how annoyed we were! That would get us right in the mood to do whatever we were told… NOT! But we did it anyway, knowing that we would not be able to do anything else until it was all done.

So, we spent the morning cleaning, cleaning , cleaning. Both Mom and Dad were furious when we just sat there, waiting for everyone else to clean or purposely take that extra long way around the house, stopping at every little thing just to waste time or play with the dog, when usually we didn’t pay much attention to her. I hated how mad they got!

“What difference does it make, it’s just going to get dirty again? Why should I make my bed, I just have to sleep in again tonight? The tub isn’t THAT dirty, can’t it wait?” I was such a pain! (Sorry Mom & Dad)

I remember once Dad told me (about a dozen times) to clean up my room so he could vacuum. I wasted so much time and ignored his warnings. So he took every bit of clothing, every toy, every scrap of paper, EVERYTHING off my floor and put it on my bed. Then he brought the vacuum in and did his job. I came in and told him I was working on it (which I wasn’t really) and asked why he did it. He said, “Well, now you have to clean your room because now that it’s all on your bed, you can’t go to sleep until it’s all put away!” I looked at my bed and it was covered head to foot with crap! All MY crap! It was at least a foot tall covering the entire bed. I was so mad!

Now that I have the kids, I’m thinking that was a REALLY good idea! I’m the one saying… “Clean it up or we’re not going anywhere! Put that away… no it doesn’t go there… put it where it belongs! Hurry up and quit stalling! Leave the dog alone and get back to work!”

Hopefully someday, their kids will return the favor!

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