Day 188 The Perfect Mom Project

I would like my husband to stop enabling the girls. There are tasks around the house that they are very capable of doing and he will jump in and do them. I am not sure if it is because he does not want to deal with them complaining or if he likes being a martyr, but whatever it is, we have to stop it! I have explained to him that they need these tasks to learn responsibility. We are there proving ground before they get out in the real world, so we must give them something to prove!

 Mark is a wonderful man and he has a very good heart, but he doesn't like conflict or confrontation. He definitely married pepper to his salt, because neither of those things is a problem for me. Please do not miss understand, I am not the Rambo of relationships, but I set my mind to something and that is what I work towards. If there is conflict or confrontation I work through it and move on. That is what I want the girls to learn too. It does not matter if you like doing it; the job still has to get done. If they do not learn that now, life is going to be pretty tough on them.

 It is not like we ask for much:

Do your homework/do your best                                 
DONE

Fill water jugs                                                                         
Only when they are asked

Do their laundry (with Mom's help sometimes)      
 Once the mound is too high

Do the dishes every other day                                        
 DONE (with complaining)

Feed the dogs dinner and then take them out          
DONE   (with complaining)

Occasionally clean your room                                        
One willingly/one not

As I look at the list it does seem pretty significant, perhaps I do ask for a lot. Regardless they somehow end up with plenty of time to plop in front of the computer and television. I really do not want to hear any complaints though or I will have to whip out my own task list to show them. For now though I have to work on their Dad who (if he is not careful) will be running over to their dorms and homes to do things for them, because they do not want to do them their selves. That just will not do at all, I need him here to help me…tee hee hee!