Day 22: Milestone

We have WAY too many toys at our house. I'm sure many of you with children can commiserate. It's not like we try to overindulge, it's just that they keep accumulating as the years go by. So, when we moved into this house, I set up a toy room in the large room downstairs and designated that as the only location where toys are allowed.

That works out great for the rest of my house. The upstairs stays pretty clean and uncluttered and I can live with it.

But then when I venture down to the basement, I'm always blown away by the amount of toys strewn all across the floor. We try to clean it up every few days, but of course, it only takes them moments to dump it all out again. And they aren't super cooperative about cleaning up. I think the amount of stuff all over overwhelms them, so I end up having to nag them to keep cleaning--while I do the majority of the work.

But tonight a beautiful thing happened. They wanted to finish a movie they started last week and the rule is, no TV if the room is messy. But I had to start dinner. So, I offered to help for 5 minutes, but told them I would then leave the rest up to them.

So, we headed downstairs and I tried to tackle the large objects and the items that were difficult for them to put away. Then I told them it was time for me to go upstairs and to let me know when they were done.

Every time I've left them to clean on their own, they've ended up just playing and nothing gets put away. So, you can imagine my surprise when Little M came upstairs about 20 minutes later to inform me that they were done.

I headed downstairs a little skeptical. But when I got there, all I saw were a few minor things--everything else was put away!!!

So, maybe that doesn't seem like a big deal. But for us it's huge. I was so proud of them! They had a ton of toys out and they put them all back. And they even put each toy back in its designated bin or spot. I think that's pretty impressive for a 5 and almost-3 year old.

And I'm happy for me too. Because, of course, it makes my life easier.

And that was my Joyful Moment tonight.

Wishing you all a moment of finding joy in someone else's progress! (?)