Helping Hands

I recently started to ask the kids to start washing their own dishes after lunch, and they were more than willing to help their old dad out. This is a good thing on a number of levels, first and foremost that it helps out yours truly, is often at wit's end trying to do everything under the sun while training to be a real man. It's also good for the kids to have some responsibility while also gaining an appreciation of all the little things that go into making the day run smoothly. It also affords dad a brief moment right after lunch, when he happens to be the most drowsy, to grab a quick snooze.

One final and important perk is that it forces me to lighten up and let things happen as they may. Sometimes I get all uptight and anal retentive about how the dishes get done (I know I'm not alone on this one), and having the kids do it teaches me that things don't have to be done a certain way, or rather, all ways are generally fine. As the saying goes, "Lighten up, dude."

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Kim Siever for the pic.