Crap! Darn it!! NO! I did it again! I fell asleep.  See, I recorded a show over a month ago and have been desperately attempting to watch it every night for the past week once the kiddos were in bed. But it never fails, as soon as I settle into the couch, cozy up with the throw, & hit play, my eyes get heavy. Then I’m usually startled awake by the dog barking to go out one last time for the night. But this night was different; it wasn’t the dog, but my son who startled me to consciousness. He was stomping on EVERY SINGLE STEP as he came down the stairs & declared, “Mom, I NEED this sweatshirt for school tomorrow & I just realized there’s food on the sleeves!”  The response in my head went something like this….”Screw that, son, I just did 5 loads of laundry today, if you need it washed then go grab your washboard & head on down to the Maumee River! I done labored, birthed you, taught you how to crap in the toilet, walk, read, etc. I JUST WANT TO WATCH MY SHOW & THEN GO TO BED!!!”, but mom guilt seeped in & suddenly the words just escaped my mouth, “sure, honey, I’ll go throw it in the wash, get some sleep, goodnight!” I threw a load in, headed up to bed, blinked, & woke up to my phone notification, it was a text, a text from my son, my son who was literally just a few feet away from me in his room, it read, and I quote, “Laundry” with an emoji of laundry next to it. Now, this might not seem like that big of a deal to many. However, at night our kiddos dock & plug-in their devices downstairs in the kitchen, a kitchen that is literally four feet from the basement where our laundry area is located. Thus, this means that my son walked downstairs, grabbed his phone, walked back upstairs, & texted me instead of walking downstairs and placing his laundry in the dryer. And that was the last straw!!! Ever just feel like your family takes advantages of your kindness, generosity, & unconditional love?  I had enough! Done! I’m officially on strike, laundry strike!!!

Mom’s on Laundry Strike!!

I mean, I might be fed up, frustrated, & slightly miffed, but I’m not a total asshole, I’m not gonna leave them totally stranded with stains, smelly duds, & dirty undies.  I took the day, cleaned the laundry room “space”, & provided instruction. See, unlike newer homes with laundry rooms on the first floor our home was built in the 1940s, thus, our laundry “space” is in the basement, ya know, with all the spiders. Yup, spiders, those are what has prevented my oldest; she’s 14 years old, from doing laundry. So today I tried my best to remove any spider webs, and if my daughter asks, I killed spiders (not really, I know they’re actually good to have around ;)).  I also added an informational sheet, sheets for each of the laundry “categories”, & I added a few notes via dry-erase board markers. I mean, I gotta give them a bit of guidance. And now begins the TOUGHEST part, I need to step back. I have to be less available, I have to let them be in charge of their own laundry, to make mistakes, I have to allow them to shrink their clothes, set-in those stains, & accidentally dye all our whites pink for the sake of their independence, my independence, learning, & perhaps even for the sake of your child….one of your children might marry mine, and you’re welcome, I sacrificed my clothing so that their marriage would strive!

Wish me well, loves! I legit have no idea how this will turn out. It might end well with self-sufficient children, children who grow into self-sufficient adults who marry other self-sufficient adults if everyone else is willing to go ALL-IN, or we might need to purchase entirely new wardrobes!  🤷‍♀️ Show of hands, who’s ALL-IN with self-sufficient kiddos? 🙋🏻‍♀️ Let’s bring back arranged marriages? Topic for a new post? 😉😂 I joke, but please wish me well…17 years of marriage is on the line. Share & tag friends if you agree that kids should be doing their own laundry by age 14!! What age is/are your kiddos going to be doing/are doing their own laundry?