Tags
children, home, humor, Mother's Day, mothers, raising children, writing
Getting your kids to clean their rooms is a lot harder than it seems. Impossible, sometimes.
When our younger two were tots, I tidied their rooms myself. It was fun balling up their bitsy socks and lining them in drawers, folding striped stretchy pants with ruffles at the waist, and picking up Matchbox cars.
Fun, that is, until our daughter turned three. Suddenly, Eva’s idea of a good time meant emptying her dresser drawers, every one of them, and flinging everything on the carpet. Everything.
I routinely wiped out on Matchbox cars littering the floor, and woe be unto the person who got up in the middle of the night to navigate the mine field of toys on the way to the bathroom.
Being a good new mom, I turned to parenting articles for answers. One magazine suggested that spending five minutes cleaning up every night would give your child a sense of responsibility. Skip the night light! You could tuck them into bed where they’d fairly glow with accomplishment!
I don’t know whose kids were affected by this. Not mine.
Yelling was too much work, and an allowance didn’t dent their desire. Weeks passed and toys piled high; in a desperate attempt to get the kids to clean, I plucked the last card from my Mom Deck of Tricks:
Make something up.
Enter Mrs. Nesbitt. I envisioned a plump lady with iron-grey hair, wearing sensible oxfords and a healthy dose of polyester. She’d be a take-no-prisoners cleaner, whomping dust from couch cushions, thrusting her vacuum wand into the dark corners I neglected. The house would sparkle when she left, all our problems swept under the Rug of Avoidance I was creating.
Even though she didn’t exist, she could still take the blame for things. It all seemed so tidy.
The next time my daughter asked why she had to clean, I cast a pitying glance her way. “Since Mrs. Nesbitt didn’t show up today, we have to do the cleaning,” I said sadly.
She turned back to her room, eyebrows stuck together in a puzzled frown. So far, so good.
Another few weeks went by with me happily blaming Mrs. Nesbitt for the conundrum she unwittingly created. Gotta sweep the floor, kiddo? Blame No-Show Nesbitt. Fold the laundry? Ha! Looks like Mrs. Nesbitt forgot again.
One day, reality struck.
After making her bed once too often, Eva came out of her room, beginnings of a black cloud swirling over her head.
“If you’re paying Mrs. Nesbitt, she should be doing the cleaning,” she fumed, one little foot stomping the ground for emphasis.
Eva’s little foot stomped my heart, too. I couldn’t do it anymore – Mrs. Nesbitt’s gig was up.
“Honey,” I said, bending down, “there is no Mrs. Nesbitt.”
She stared. I waited for a wail of disbelief, to feel her thorns of accusation, but instead, she smiled.
After that, it became a joke around our house. Bed not made? Blame Mrs. Nesbitt! Dog doo lurking in the yard? Must be Nesbitt’s day off!
Mrs. Nesbitt faded away as the years passed, but recently she made a comeback. It was Mother’s Day, and my husband made supper, vowing to wash the heaps of dishes after he returned from an errand.
He pointed a finger my way. “Stay out of the kitchen,” he threatened.
After he left, I filled the sink with water and started scrubbing.
He returned, and with an exasperated look, asked me why I had washed dishes, on Mother’s Day of all days.
I smiled.
“I didn’t,” I said. “Mrs. Nesbitt stopped by…”
Peter D. Mallett said:
That’s great. My wife and ocasionally blame things on Beauregard (our non-existant butler) who never seems to be around when you need him.
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dmswriter said:
Ha! My guess is Mrs. Nesbitt and Beauregard have taken off together and are probably sitting on some tropical island beach, sipping Mai Tais while we take up the slack. 🙂
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Peter D. Mallett said:
Ah Hah. Mystery solved.
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Jess Witkins said:
I love this story! How cute! I’ll have to share it with my sister. She always joked she wanted to get a pet chicken and name it Mrs. Nesbitt. She may like your idea more!
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dmswriter said:
And to think it really happened! I felt awful when my daughter thought there really was a Mrs. Nesbitt! Maybe she’s better off as a chicken… 😉
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karenspath said:
Poor Mrs. Nesbitt… always being blamed for everything. I loved it! I loved it so much that I shared it! 😉
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dmswriter said:
Yes, unfortunately Mrs. Nesbitt has become the house scapegoat. She’s handling it pretty well, though. 🙂 Thanks for the share – I appreciate it!
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Maggie C said:
Cute story. I can’t remember how I used to get my kids to clean up. Maybe I didn’t… Susie sent me. Great party going on over there.
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dmswriter said:
Sometimes you just give up on getting your kids to clean! I know I’ve felt that way many times…
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Kitt Crescendo said:
I stopped by from Susie’s party and I’ve just got to say…what a creative way to get your child to do something. I’m sure your daughter actually admired your devious creativity. Heck, it was a battle of wills and your ingenuity helped you win! 😉
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dmswriter said:
Hi Kitt- Glad you stopped by! Now that a few years have passed, I think my daughter appreciates the Mrs. Nesbitt story, but at the time, you’re right – it was a battle of wills and I needed all the help I could get!! Deanne
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Jackie Cangro said:
Stopping by from Susie’s party and I really enjoyed your post!
If only there really was a Mrs. Nesbitt around to help shoulder the responsibility when there was too much on our plates!
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dmswriter said:
Thanks, Jackie! Even though the kids are older, I sometimes wish Mrs.Nesbitt was the real deal and would show up once in a while!
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susielindau said:
That last line gave me shivers. The perfect set up. My mom used to talk about how Hilda needed to come and clean. She never showed up….
Thanks for bringing it to the party! Have fun clicking on links and introducing yourself! There are a lot of new faces!
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dmswriter said:
Hilda…Mrs. Nesbitt – why do these cleaning ladies all have such Goth-sounding names? Makes them rather frightening, doesn’t it? It was a fun party, and thanks so much for the opportunity to meet new people!
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susielindau said:
Thanks for coming! There should be some new links dropped off over the weekend after I publicize it on FB tomorrow AM…
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Yatin said:
Found my way to your post from Susie’s Blog Party.
My elder one has found a short cut to clean his room — messy closet!! His room has a big walk-in closet & he shoves everything into his closet, at least it gives a good first impression of the room
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dmswriter said:
Thanks for visiting! That must be a built-in tendency with kids. Our son is 17, and still shoves things in his closet to avoid cleaning. I’ve just about given up. 😉
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Pleun said:
Oh, what a cute story! I love the Mrs. Nesbitt idea and will surely use it somehow! Oh, yeah, Susie sent me 🙂
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dmswriter said:
Aren’t Susie’s parties fun? Feel free to borrow Mrs. Nesbitt as often as you need to! It sure worked in our house until I got busted!
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mariner2mother said:
Great way to handle cleaning up. With my son, who is 10, when he was around 4-6, the floor would become a mess of cars, trains, action figures, and Legos. By the time it was all picked up so that I could vacuum, I was exhausted. There was more than one day when I grabbed a broom and just swept everything into a corner so I could vacuum. He’s better today, but we’ve still got a way to go.
Popped in from Susie’s party and really enjoyed your story!
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dmswriter said:
Thanks for visiting! Oh, I’ve been there – I remember sweeping up Legos in a huge pile. I think I even used the dustpan to manage getting them back in the bucket. We’ve still got a ways to go, too – our son is 17, and most days, his room still looks like a bomb blew up in it! I think I need Mrs. Nesbitt to stop by… 😉
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Shreya said:
What a cute story! And the idea was so creative.
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dmswriter said:
Thanks, Shreya! We still wish Mrs. Nesbitt would visit every time the house gets a little messy. 🙂
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Shreya said:
Whenever she makes an appearance next, please send her my way. I could use some help 🙂
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