Article by Wendy McCance

It began with a plate left on the counter teetering next to the sink that got me thinking. Really? Whichever kid put this plate here couldn’t be bothered to put the plate into the dishwasher, the dishwasher with a sign above it announcing that the dishes were dirty? They couldn’t even be bothered with the additional effort of placing the plate in the sink? Mind you, the sign above the dishwasher is a little piece of tape that says dirty dishes which is placed on the counter whenever the dishwasher is emptied because, you know, opening the dishwasher to see if the dishes are clean or not is waaaay too much work for the average human to attempt.

So, this is when my head began to spin with a list that went out of control in my mind as I counted off all of the things that drove me crazy.

1. Straightening the cupboard I find not one but two or three boxes that held crackers or cookies or fruit snacks and there is nothing left inside. How thoughtful of the kids to protect the planet by saving these boxes in our cupboard.
2. The endless pile of laundry because once a towel has been touched even to wipe off wet hands, it is no longer worthy of an additional use. Nope, to the floor it goes in the hopes a parent will come along and save it and place it in a laundry basket to be cleaned.
3. The thoughtful attempts to not waste food by putting a spoonful of leftovers back in the fridge. I mean, there isn’t even enough left of whatever that leftover even was to place on a cracker and create a tasty snack.
4. Cups and glasses and mugs and anything else worthy of placing a liquid inside when one is parched. I appreciate that the kids can keep themselves from becoming dehydrated, but there is never a cup or glass or mug or anything else to put a liquid in when I am thirsty myself. Nope, I need to hunt these artifacts down in the kids bedrooms if I get thirsty.
5. Shoes! Shoes are everywhere. With 5 people in the family and several pairs of shoes per person, the house can look like a shoe store. It doesn’t matter that there is a shoe rack just inside the front door or that there is another shoe rack in the front hall closet or that the kids have their own rooms to place their own shoes. Shoes look best and are best stored in the middle of living rooms and strewn across the hallway or tossed next to the shoe rack, but organization seems to be for losers because there are no losers residing in our home.
6. Television sets that are turned on, but there is not a kid in sight. Half an hour later, they still have not reappeared. Off they went to god knows where and the television was long forgotten or just too difficult to be turned off.
7. I could place a napkin (for example) on the floor in plain site in a heavily walked area of the home as an experiment. Would any of the kids pick it up? A more telling question would be, how many of the kids would kick it aside if they were walking by?

Don’t get me wrong, the kids are thoughtful and the house is not a pig pen, but wow can kids be a distracted bunch. If I ask for help, they are right there helping out, but it’s a rare moment when I see a kid empty a dishwasher or bring down a mug from their room without being asked.

Can you relate?

By the way, while writing this post, my son left the tv on in the back room. He then announced he was going outside. My husband asked him to go turn off the tv for which he apologized saying he forgot all about it and I laughed as I was just writing about this very thing.

My husband wondered why I was cracking up and so I told him what I was writing and he shared one of his pet peeves with me. It drives him crazy when the kids use the dishes as some sort of crazy circus act. A dish will go on top of a bowl which will go on top of a glass because it is easiest to balance a strange assortment of dishes which could tumble at any moment than to say, move the glass aside before placing another plate on top of it.

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Wendy McCance

Wendy McCance is a Michigan based freelance writer and social media consultant. Wendy has gained attention as the founder of the popular blog Searching for the Happiness which can be viewed in 9 local papers online, including the Oakland Press. The combination of writing skills and social media knowledge is what makes Wendy such a powerhouse to work with. Stay tuned for opportunities to advertise, guest post and as always, have your questions answered.

To contact Wendy McCance about a writing or social media assignment, interview or speaking engagement, please email her at: [email protected]

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