MOM’S BOOT CAMP

By a Tired Mom, for a Tired Mom, in Honor of Mother’s Day!

A LITTLE QUIZ FOR YOUR NOT-SO-LITTLE ONES…

QUESTION 1:

Hey, Mr. or Ms. Teenager! You see one used glass or a whole pile of dirty dishes in the sink. What do you do?

ANSWER 1:

1 •Act like you didn’t see it and go upstairs to play your PlayStation.

2 •Take the plate that you just used for your after school snack and balance it precariously on top of the rest, then do choice #1.

3 •Put them in the dishwasher, because it only takes a minute and you may have the pleasure of seeing Mom faint because you did it.

IF YOU SAID #3, YOU ARE

CORRECT!

QUESTION 2:You cooked something in the microwave, but it exploded and

made a mess. What do you do?

ANSWER 2:

1• Pretend you didn’t see it and take

your snack upstairs to play the PlayStation.

2• Grab a clean decorative dishtowel

and slop it around for a minute, leaving a bigger mess than you first started with, but you can say you tried… and then do choice #1.

3• Grab a sponge and some household

cleaner and take the five minutes to properly clean it out. You may get the pleasure of seeing Mom giggle in hysteria because you actually knew where the bottle of cleaner was.

IF YOU SAID #3, YOU ARE

CORRECT!

QUESTION 3:

You’re walking through the kitchen and see a wadded up piece of trash on the floor. What do you do?

ANSWER 3:

1• Walk over it, pretending you didn’t

see it, so you can go upstairs and play the PlayStation.

2• Acknowledge it, but your hands are

full of the bowl that exploded in the microwave and you’re contemplating how to balance it on the pile of dishes in the sink, and you leave it be.

3• Pick it up, taking the 2.5 milliseconds

to throw it in the trash can. You may get the joy of seeing Mom’s eye twitch stop for a few hours.

IF YOU SAID #3, YOU ARE

CORRECT!

QUESTION 4:

You have a dog. He is YOUR dog. Your mother doesn’t even like him. And you see a few piles of dog hair that YOUR dog shed on

the living room floor. What do you do?

ANSWER 4:

1 • Ignore it. And then go upstairs and… well, you know.

2• Acknowledge it, but feel that it adds a

bit of character to the otherwise clean floor, so you get your dog more excited, rub him all over, and get 7 more piles of hair on the floor. Then you go upstairs.

3• Grab the sweeper and take the 3

minutes to vacuum the floor. You may get to hear your mom say “thank you” – without gritting her teeth.

IF YOU SAID #3, YOU ARE

CORRECT!

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION FOR #4

This is what a vacuum cleaner looks like:

Now, yours may vary slightly in color or shape,

but this is the general idea. I know you know

where it is, too…

QUESTION 5:

Your bed is unmade. What do you do?

ANSWER 5:

1• Nothing. This mom doesn’t think

you have to make your bed, after all – you’re just getting back in it tonight.

This is a freebie.

QUESTION 6:

Your floor is littered with your dirty clothes. What do you do?

ANSWER 6:

1• Nothing. You’re in your room

busy playing PlayStation.

2• Nothing. Eventually they will

crawl downstairs to the laundry room by themselves.

3• Nothing. I’m a teenage boy. I

smell it and wear it.

4• Nothing. Eventually Mom will get

sick of it and gather them together to wash them.

5

• Take the two minutes to shove them all in a basket and take them down the next time you go. Mom will be happy you did it, but that eye twitch may come back because of the added laundry.

IF YOU SAID #5, YOU ARE

CORRECT!

QUESTION 7:

Who loves you more than anyone else in

the whole wide world???

Your Mom!Take care of her, and

remind her how much you love her

too, every single day.