Trashin’ Camp

By far my favorite mommy-moment from last week happened during one of those random everyday tasks.

Some people think motherhood is a bit monotonous.

I agree wholeheartedly…  It’s like a hamster wheel of neverending samey-samey…

And yet, I disagree, too.  Are sunrises and sunsets “monotonous” just because they happen over and over the same way every day?  Are any two ever exactly the same?

Not really.

And the same is also true with those monotonous aspects of homemaking and child-rearing.  Children are growing and learning and changing every single day.  It’s never exactly the same, even if it feels that way.

So how do you keep it from driving you crazy?

Enjoying the “over and over the same way” of motherhood requires some of the same skills as enjoying a sunset or a sunrise.

Sometimes it’s all just grey and overcast, yes, and a little bit boring,

but sometimes it’s breathtakingly beautiful.

Sometimes it’s pouring rain.  Not as pretty to look at – You have to grab and umbrella, slicker, and boots, and go jump around if you really want to enjoy it.

We were having an umbrella-slicker-and-boots moment cracking the chore whip after school.  You would think I’d just asked the 7 year old to pull off his pinky toe or something.  No joke.  Empty the dishwasher? Again?  When that’s his do-it-everyday job?  I’m such a mean mom!

Storm clouds and lighting.  This same battle happens in some form or another almost every day.

Well, okay, no, it definitely happens every single time there are chores to be done.  With this many kids, someone is bound to be cranky.  Over and over.  Every. Day. Of. My. Life…

So I prayed that prayer…

The one that is ever close to a mom trying to keep her sanity, and I sent my thoughts upward.

“Lord, please don’t let me lose it.”

We can fix this.  It doesn’t have to ruin his whole afternoon, and I certainly don’t want to let it ruin mine.  What can help here?

I thought, well, let’s see what happens if we turn on some tunes.  Pandora to the rescue!

I was going to let him have the incomparable satisfaction of doing the whole job himself.  I really was.  Promise!  It’s just that the very first song it played was Trashin’ Camp — not the credits boy-band version, but the one straight out of the Tarzan soundtrack.

First of all, that’s pretty much one of my favorite songs of all time.  No, really, it is.

Secondly, it’s the B.E.S.T. song to empty a dishwasher to!  

I couldn’t help myself — Who could?!  Figuratively, I threw my rainboots on and jumped right into the thick of it, splashed around and had a BLAST!  The plastic cups and bowls crashed and banged into place to the beat of those marsupials playing with type-writers and breaking dishes.  The formerly whiny 7 year old didn’t know what to think…

… And then I found the eggbeaters that go to that electronic mixer.  Oh, man.  Game OVER!

This is what they looked like to me in that moment:

Epic doesn’t even begin to describe those 2 minutes, but FUN AS ALL GET-OUT might come close.

The moral of the story:

It’s good to remember (with little kids especially, but with big kids and grownups too!) clouds can part quickly and let the sunshine through to a beautiful day if you send those “please save my sanity” prayers upward and listen for the answer.I’m happy to report that before the song was over, said cranky 7 year old decided to jump around with me and join in the fun.

I’m also very very pleased to report that I managed to prevent him from breaking the glasses that he tried to put away with as much enthusiasm as were the plastic cups.
That was a close one, though!

Tagged as: life