Looking in the sink, I was struck at a bit of a life lesson.

Speed Police had graced our table with yet another rendition of her favorite meal. Noodles with butter and parmesan. That pasta is her Spindletop. The perfect meal. Thankfully, she also serves some type of fruit. I tend to make a grab for some greens. And, she has started adding chicken for those that would like a bit of protein in their dish.

I keep thinking she will tire of the meal. No such luck. It doesn’t help that whenever a friend might be eating with us (we feed whoever’s at our house… if they want), the guest goes on and on about how great her meal tastes.

In the midst of my mental grumbling, I have to remind myself that I got us into this little “let the kids do the work” experiment. Then I realize the truth behind it all… I’m sure they feel the exact same about my own drab meals. It reminds me so much of my own childhood. (Hi Mom… I know you’re probably reading this. We loved your cooking.) I grew up very similarly to my own kids. We had 2 boys and 2 girls (the same number and order of my own kids… until Super Surprise #5). Our meals were crazy since we were all involved in sports. So, Mom had  a few recipes rotated over and over. One was beef tenderloin (yummmmm). Another, “Hamloaf”. Oh? … you’ve never heard of this delicacy.. seen it on a menu? I’m confident it’s making a come back. Surely Dean Fering is considering adding it to his repertoire.

All right… not so much. But neither are my tired standards of chicken, rice & beans or turkey tacos or chicken & potato soup or … you guessed it, spaghetti stealing headlines. I make a vat of the latter, freeze and serve it over & over. So who am I to dread the pasta thing?

But back to the sink. This must be a dishes week. Sweet Brenna encouraged us yesterday with a view from her sink. Mine is not so pretty.

dishes in the sink

As I looked at the pot, I remembered the encouragement I had given our cook (and all our cooks) that had gone completely unheeded. “If you clean your pots right after you cook in them, it’s so much easier than waiting.”

(This must be a memory lane night. I can almost hear my friend, Missy, telling me the same thing about my laundry years ago. “If you take the clothes out of the dryer while they’re hot, it’s so much easier to fold.” She had watched me more than once fold clothes whose wrinkles had set for days while sitting in my drier.)

Our cook’s pot housed pasta and parmesan remnants. Let’s be honest here, those particular items, when left to sit, stick like glue – Gorilla Glue. You can soak it for hours; but you’ll still be scrubbing and scraping. Which she did. Moaning and groaning.

That pot, though, made me think of my own life. How many times have I let something that needed washing sit and stick. If I had just paid attention to it and taken care of it swiftly, the pain might have been quick and over. But for some reason, I often opt to ignore and put off things I’d like to avoid.

It’s the same with handling negative behavior in my kids. So often I’d rather wait. Hope it goes away. Bank on them figuring it out on their own and change just because it’s the right thing to do. That rarely happens, though.

Oh, yeah. Did I remember to introduce myself? My name is Kay. I’m a recovering enabler, procrastinator, grammar hacker, and I struggle with chronic non-confrontational-itis. With my family, the kids especially, I just can’t stand pointing out potential negatives. I’m very good at seeing and heralding the good .. and probably equally good at the seeing part of the bad. I just don’t like and get tired of pointing out negative behavior.

But just like that pasta parmesan. If I don’t call it when I see it, I could have a stuck mess on my hands. Maybe that’s where walking the road together comes into play. Good friends can help you see things you tend to ignore and can even help me see a few good cleaning options.

That parmesan pasta. I knew it was good for something.

News from the front. Hoarding frontline, that is.

Today Sister Save-A-Lot, sitting in her class, chatting it up with classmates, reaches in her book bag to pull out something she wanted to show her friends. She unzips the outer pocket and reaches in to retrieve her treasure. But what does she find instead??

two bars of soap and a hand mirror?

2 bars of soap and a hand mirror!
needing to look for another secret stash spot...

FHA (Future Hoarder of America), eager to find yet another super secret stash spot, grabs his goods. The bag has been compromised.

Stay tuned for more from our sticky fingered little sneak. Is there any hope??!! Maybe we need to be thinking about nipping the issue before it sticks :) It would be easier if he weren’t so darn cute.

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