Quote of the Day

4.17.2007

things I need to remember

1. When cleaning up the kitchen with my son:

  • My first job is to build a relationship with him.
  • My second job is to train him in how to clean the kitchen.
  • My third job is to clean the kitchen.

And at the end of the day, when I fret that nothing got done, I need to evaluate my day in terms of relationship-building and training, not in terms of task completion.

2. Do not ever ever schedule a day so that it looks like this:
  • take Chickadee to preschool . . . pick her up
  • half hour later, take Dandy to school . . . pick him up
  • one hour later, take both kids to swimming lessons
  • one hour after that, take both kids to t-ball

~Suzanne



:: this post is included in the May 28 Carnival of Family Life

4 comments:

mommyto5 said...

So true about the evaluation of your day, I can relate and wow your day does sound busier than mine:)

Anonymous said...

Suzanne, I wonder if I might have permission to use those sentences you wrote about cleaning the kitchen with your son? One of the sections in the book I am writing is about training children to work, and I think what you wrote is a nice reminder to focus on the really important stuff. Email me privately and let me know if that is OK. I could quote you just using your first name, but if you are comfortable I could use your last name too and/or your location.

I will be putting a 'thank you' page at the back of the book listing the blog addresses of the internet friends I quote in the book.

Thanks for considering it!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for participating in the Carnival of Family Life this week. Your post is a great contribution to the Carnival!

Anonymous said...

What a great share! Things we would all do well to remember...especially that the thing least important stays at the bottom of the list.