Fun Friday – A Bundle of Joy – Tales of a College Graduate

 

My bundle of joy arrived January 29^th at 9pm. The darling weighed over 10 pounds and left me exhausted. That was the night my college graduate dropped off a huge bag of laundry for me wash.

I don’t think my son realizes that at my age, 9pm is the middle of the night. Nor does he realize that his actions are a display of entitlement. What I think he believes is that he’s putting his Business Management skills to work.

When my son stopped by for a weekend visit he entered the house with a mesh laundry bag over his shoulder. It hung from his back like Santa with a sack of toys. I heard him before I saw him as he shouted, “Ma, I’m home and I’m bearing gifts.”

As I entered the room my son said, “You might want to start washing tonight, I have a lot of clothes.”

I looked at him like a deer in headlights then said, “I’ll pencil you in for tomorrow and leave an invoice.”

I agreed to wash the bundle…the next day. As I began to sort the clothes I discovered socks balled up, pants with one leg inside-out, and towels that were softer than mine. I might keep the towels.

After the laundry episode I added a new word to my son’s vocabulary – empowerment. I looked up the definition for him in my Webster’s Dictionary – yes I still have a print edition of that. Here’s the definition – “The granting of power, right or authority to perform various acts or duties.”

I grabbed an empty paper towel role and pretended we were in ancient times when kings/people were knighted. I had my son face me and lean forward, tapped him on each shoulder with the paper towel role. I said, “I now deem you empowered to do your own laundry.”

“Is all this necessary?”

“I’m quite sure it is. I want you to know without a doubt, that I have every confidence that you are capable of washing your own clothes.”

At this point, I felt the eye-roll coming before I saw it. This only fueled my actions of exaggeration and sarcasm. “Come with me.”

My son followed me to our laundry area where I pointed out, “This is the Tide Laundry Detergent. Here are the Gain dryer sheets. You have all the necessary tools to get the job done.”

After a few more rolls of the eyes my son said, “Okay, I get it. Empowerment. I need to do my own laundry.”

This fun exercise in empowerment is an example that worked well for my son. He appreciated the humor tailored just for him. My son knows that I don’t mind occasionally washing his clothes, but there are ground rules and expectations. If I’m washing his clothes, it’s to free him up to do something important working on his car, repairing something for me, etc.

And the moral of this story, if there is one…it’s okay to support your kids and have a little fun in the process.

Think of a fun situation that has brought you joy recently…may it spread sunshine throughout your day.

Muffins with Mom – A Graduation Celebration 3 Ways to make your event fun

 

The official graduation ceremony ended weeks ago, the sound of pomp and circumstance now in the distance, but the celebration continues. Family, friends, fun, and the threat of foul weather. What do you do when something threatens to rain on your parade, dampen your spirits? Attack with humor.

The day of my son’s outdoor graduation open house, the weather prediction called for all day thunderstorms. We regrouped and moved the event to an inside location. I arrived early to arrange the room. After an hour, I was ready for a snack and realized I’d forgotten my favorite Sparkling Ice water.

I called my son around 10am and asked, “Can you bring me  a couple bottles of water on your way to your haircut appointment?”

“Sure, mom.”

An hour passed and my throat was beyond dry. I called my son again, “Did you forget about me?”

“No, I was going to bring the water when I’m on my way to the open house.”

“At 2pm? I’m thirsty now, not three hours from now.”

“Oh.”

That response meant I wasn’t going to quench my thirst anytime soon. The threat of severe weather was back, only this time it was inside my body…in the form of hot flashes. Between the weather in the physical environment and the blazing temperature attacking my body, stress was mounting.

A graduation celebration is supposed to reflect fun, fellowship, and friendship. Here are 3 ways to make your celebration fun.

1.      Plan a variety of activities – not everyone will like the same things. One group of young adults were enthralled in a game of cards. A few younger kids were captivated by the jumbo Connect Four game.

2.      Have plenty of food – it’s a personal preference, but I’d rather have food left over, then to run out. Your food selection does not have to be elaborate but have enough.

3.      Provide music – music sets the atmosphere; make it upbeat, lively and enough variety for all ages.

All of these things were included in our graduation celebration. Once our event was relocated indoors, nothing rained on our parade. There was a trash talking card game in one corner, aunts and uncles reminiscing at another table, and the graduate posing for pictures.

Don’t miss a chance to celebrate with your child or other relative.

How many graduation celebrations have you been to this year? What made the celebration fun?