I have been blessed with a daughter who likes to dust.  Yesterday we were all tidying up the house, and I asked Katie what she wanted to do.  She offered to dust, as I knew she would, and I told her that was a great idea.  I do not prefer to dust.

I have also been blessed with a daughter who likes to clean sinks.  Jenny enjoys swishing the water around.  I have sent her off to clean sinks many times before and not been overly impressed with her efforts.  She is only 7, and I haven’t been there showing her how.  By the time I check up on her work, she’s off and playing.  I keep forgetting that “next time” I need to supervise her.

Yesterday, again, I asked her to clean just the downstairs bathroom sink.  I had cleaned the upstairs bathroom during bath time the night before and had spot wiped the downstairs toilet.  The sink area, though, really needed attention.  I asked Jenny to do it, and she readily agreed because she likes this chore.

“Just the sink?” she asked for clarification.

“Yes, honey, everything else is fine.  It’s just the sink that needs to be cleaned.”

I was busy elsewhere, and forgot to supervise her, again.  When I checked later, the sink looked like it hadn’t been done at all.  Yet I had seen her in there, running water and having a great time.  I stopped and looked closely.

The porcelain, the bowl of the sink, sparkled and shone like a jewel.  It was the counter area that looked deplorable.  But I hadn’t told her to clean the counters.  I told her to clean just the sink.  So she did.

Next time…