2007 Goal Update, Part 4

In January, I made a New Year's Resolution.  I don't usually make them, but did this year because it was for a worthy cause.....my daughter.  :-)  The link to the original post is above.  You can go HERE to read the other updates I've posted about this.  Just scroll to the bottom and start from the January 15th post.

In a nutshell, my goal is to make a connection with my daughter through some of the chores I have to do around the house every day.  I chose to focus on doing laundry together this year.  My success with this goal is mixed.  Part of that is due to the changing dynamics in our family.  Back in January, Third Son was usually in bed by the time we were ready to tackle the laundry.  Today, at 17 months, he's wide awake and into everything!  I have found myself falling back on my Daughter as a babysitter for him so I could get the laundry done without having him into everything in my bedroom, where we fold and iron.  She is so good with him.  She's the sweetest Little Mama I think I've ever seen, which makes it easy to have her take up the task of keeping Third Son entertained.  But then that leaves her doing her thing, and me doing my thing, and there's not much of a connection that way, eh?  So the last few weeks I have had to make a conscious decision to have my Daughter come fold laundry with me and bring Third Son along so he's not into the dishwasher and garbage can as my Husband and two older sons clean the kitchen from dinner.

We are constantly distracted in our conversation because of Third Son's antics, but I've found that even that brings us together in our work, and it's all good.  And we've had some interesting chats!  Well, lately, my Daughter is doing all the chatting.  She has taken to telling me stories while we work.  Man, that girl can spin a yarn.  We also play a casual game of hide and seek.  Whenever one of us has to leave the room to put something away, or go get hangers, the other hides.  So it's fun.  :-)  I plan on this being our job together for forever, and I hope she looks back at this time together when she's doing the laundry for her own family, and decides to reach out to her own daughter in the same way.

I think next year we'll start scrubbing the kitchen floor together. 

heh heh. 

No, seriously.  ;-)