Reciprocity

I'm getting tired of the unreasonable demands. Or maybe it's the pure unreasonableness of the demands that is tiring me; either way, it's taxing.

I'm sitting on the front lawn watching Talia play and Skyler and Marcus are taking turns coming up to me and demanding that I get up immediately to find a toy, get a snack, replenish a cup of milk, or dance like a monkey on a string. I am up and down and up and down and up and down and I start feeling like maybe I'd be better off staying on my feet. If I were to embrace indentured servitude, that is.

But I have a better idea.

I decided that from now on for every time-killing and irrelevant demand made to me by the kids, I would make a similar demand on them. A demand that would actually save me some time in some way. For example, Marcus comes up with a random plastic toy watch and asks me to put it on him. I survey the room and say, "Marcus, I will put that watch on you if you pick up those cups that Talia pulled out of the drawer." He wins, I win, we both win.

When David heard of the reciprocity agreement he was ecstatic. "Skyler, I'll read you a book if you go get me a beer." He walked around grinning and exclaiming, "I like this new rule. This is a great rule!" Marcus glared in my direction.

The reciprocity idea actually came to me as I was cleaning the house the other day with two little turkeys underfoot demanding constant service. I needed them out of my hair so I could tidy up before dinner and now without cable that takes some creative solutions. But I realized if every time they came up to me I gave them a chore they would sooner or later stop coming up to me. By the time they clued in to the ruse they had picked up every toy in the living room and had washed the front window as well. After that they kept their distance. I knew then that I was onto something good.