Have you ever noticed that it is really easy to ignore your children when they are being good? And then as soon as they act up, or do something naughty you come right down on them? I know this can’t just be me.
But some days it seems like an impossible task “catching” them being good. Other times I am too focused on the negativity that swirls around like a virus.
Tonight my oldest son was cleaning up the kitchen area, like he does every night. Generally he sweeps, cleans off the table, fights with his siblings while he is doing it because he doesn’t understand why they are so messy and clearly they are doing it just to torment him. Clearly.
So he was cleaning up and I was dealing with younger children having baths and co-ordinating showers. And searching the house for discarded bath towels, because apparently no one can ever bring them downstairs to the laundry room after using them. Even though I ask them every. single. time.
He called to me that he was done cleaning up. I called back to him thanking him for doing it. And really thought nothing of it again.
Right before he went up to bed we were talking in the kitchen . I happened to glance around the kitchen and notice that all the pots and pans were gone. He had hand washed all of them, dried them, and put them all away. He had wiped down the stove and counter tops, and had put all of the dishes in the dishwasher. This is completely unprecedented.
I interrupted our conversation right then to tell him how proud of him I was. How impressed I was at the amount of effort he had put forth unasked. I hugged him tight, though it embarrassed him slightly, and told him how proud I was.
He was beaming.
It was a good reminder for me to work on praising the positives. Turns out you catch more than just flies with honey.
