Mother's Little Helper

If you want to see a little baby's eyes light up in our house, you just have to mutter one magic word. "Goldfish?" No. "Elmo?" No. It's far greater than anything you can imagine. It is...."dishwasher." Our Fridgidaire dishwasher is the end all, be all in A.'s world, and the promise of helping load or unload it whips that baby into a high-steppin' frenzy. She will literally dance her way into the kitchen when it's time to clean up.

(I know, I have no idea where she gets this, because goodness knows I've never danced my way into a kitchen. I have danced my way out of the kitchen. Honestly, after completing a marathon dishwashing session, I've been know to bust out a celebratory Roger Rabbit while singing Montell's Jordan classic "This Is How We Do It." It's a family favorite--a guilty pleasure. Which reminds me, I'm overdue for a post about my guilty pleasures. Maybe Friday?)

A. is a silverware master. She says "nice" for "knife," which is hilarious. And I'm sure some parents would be concerned about their toddler having access to butter knives (for the record, I hand wash the sharp knives), but I feel confident that she likes me enough to not cut me. (Yet.) She puts everything in the one drawer that I open for her, and she does it with flair (see photo). She chucks it up over the edge and then busts out her dance. Very impressive.

My hope is that by letting her help, she'll be more likely to help as she gets older. But who am I kidding? I used to play house with my sisters when I was little, and never once do I now have any afternoon where I rejoice at the thought of tidying up or tackling anything on my chore list. "Laundry?! Thank you, lucky star, for an afternoon of pre-treating baked bean stains!" But speaking of my bad attitude and speaking of stars:

"Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may becomes blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life--in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing." Philippians 2:14-16

Our pastor has been preaching through Philippians, and his sermon on these verses, he said, received quite a large response. And I certainly see why. They're about to put me in my place.

A. tackles her "chores" with enthusiasm. They make her happy. And who knows why? But the reasons have to be simple. Maybe she feels like she's a big help, and I certainly tell her she is. Maybe she wants to do what I do. Or maybe she just thinks shiny silverware is fun. But when she gets excited to help, she makes me realize that I grumble...a lot. I find joy in just getting the task done, not in actually doing the task. This baby actually cries when I close the dishwasher door and say, "We're all done!" How humbling to say that a one-year-old's actions, illuminated by Scripture, put me in my place just now. Thank you, A., and thank you, Lord. (Remind me, Lord, that my work--no matter how routine or monotonous it may feel at times--is for your glory.)

And wouldn't it make even more sense to sing "This Is How We Do It" while we're actually doing something. I think so. Now time to do some pre-dinner kitchen prep work....with joy. "Whatever it is, the party's underway..."