Liberating

This morning I asked A to go get dressed and ready for the day. A few minutes later she informed me, in her "I'm almost a teenager" voice, that she had absolutely no clothes to wear and her clothes had not been washed in weeks.

I, in my "I'm the mother and how am I going to survive the teenage years" voice, told her to find her cleanest clothes, gather up the rest in a basket and meet me in the laundry room.

A has now had a lesson in how to use the washing machine. I presented it to her as a gift. She no longer has to rely on me and my very slow laundry ways. She can wash her clothes whenever she wants. She can be independent. She can be free.

Ha! It is one less load for me to do each week. Even if A doesn't, I feel liberated!