Iris is old enough now to have chores, so I assigned her to be in charge of setting the table. This is my least-favorite job, because it has to be done right when I’m in the middle of making dinner, so I was delighted to outsource it.
Not that Iris likes it any better. She was proud to be able to do it herself the first one-and-a-half times and now sees it for what it is: a chore. So in the spirit of disgruntled workers everywhere, she elected to follow the letter of the law (“set the plates, forks, napkins, and glasses”) in a defiant, in-your-face style.
The result, you’ll agree, is fabulous:
Such panache! You’ve cultivated a place-setting genius! Who knew?
Sounds familiar, same with my kindergartener, although I try to fight it and teach him how to do it the “proper” way. Maybe I should loosen up a bit?!
I actually think it looks better this way. Maybe we could start a trend…
In our house one person gets all the forks, another gets all the knives, and it all ends if you mistakenly give her her milk before the rest is done. Milk means it is time to Sit. Down. Now.