“That looks like pea,” matter-of-factly observed Slow Walker as he poured chicken broth into the crock-pot. Okay, first of all, he was right. Secondly, he wasn’t “Slow Walker” at all today. He actually had a great attitude, despite the load of work dished on him. So I should be a little more equitable and dub him “Abled Assembler” because he was. He may have sloshed stuff here and there. But to his credit, he cleaned it up.

So, he was right about the foreign (to him) liquid that constituted his soup. It did look a little weird. But he kept pouring and adding the few ingredients to make his dinner. The blind led the blind (I’m a bit of a newbie in terms of crock-pot use and recipes!) and our timing was slightly off … who knew there’s a reason it’s called “slow cooker”. Never the less, dinner was under way as we left the house for his late afternoon practice.

Okay …the highlights of the evening, highlights which keep popping up as our revolution marches forward: dinner was made (not frantically remembered at 5:30), the table was set, the dishwasher emptied and ready for after meal additions, we all sat together -ate-and chatted (!), genuine compliments were dispersed … and one very proud kid sat beaming at his accomplishment.

I’m surprised almost daily at the positive affects this equipping vs. enabling thing has brought to our home. My girls now do their homework in their room, on their respective desks (because they can now see the tops of their desks … and they actually enjoy being in a clean room). The complaining has diminished significantly. Don’t get me wrong … it’s still around – just not as much. And, the biggest surprise of all (which goes to show how little I think they can do), their beds are still being made every day without me asking!!!

The best part of last night’s meal occurred while Able Assembler dutifully cleared the table as he longingly watched his sisters run out to jump on the trampoline ….

“Can I help you clean the dishes?” What?!! Who said that??!!!

Oh yeah … Teen Takeout, from the kindness of his heart (oh, it’s in there), asked his often annoying little brother if he could help. So, with nothing in it for him, he cleared the table and helped fill the dishwasher so our junior cook could enjoy the rest of his evening outside, gleefully bouncing his sisters.

I didn’t say a word. I just savored the moment.

Thanks for walking the road with me.
-Kay

Tune in tomorrow for Ruth Meek’s guest blog. Hey, and if you are enjoying all of this … please let your friends know by sending them a link to themoatblog. Our guest bloggers for April are TERRIFIC!! Ruth, Mary Flo Ridley and Jody Capehart are just a few. There’s some good wisdom headed our way.

Thanks also (again :), to our guest bloggers who started us out like Dottie, Chuck & Kathleen … check out their Table Talks if you haven’t already.