Morning Chores

Today, after breakfast, Clara took off for the living room, where sits the enormous cardboard box that her pink overstuffed monogrammed chair came in.  She likes to crawl inside the box and shut the lid, then burst out suddenly and yell, "Boo!"

I took advantage of her absence in the kitchen to furtively sweep the floor.  I had just swept all the dirt into a pile, when she came running in to get her sippy cup.

"Mai wannew!" she said, grabbing for the broom handle.  "Me! Me!"

"Okay, let me just finish this-"

"Me! Me!"  She ran in place, letting her shoulders and arms go loose and floppy and her head fall back.  Her mouth turned into a square of sorrow.

"Okay, maybe you can sweep the dirt into the dustpan while Mama holds it."

She squatted, and with my help we managed to get most of the dirt in.  I was lavish with my praise.  At least she hadn't eaten the Cheerios off the top of the dirt pile, which is one of her favorite things to do.

I decided to scrub out the microwave then. Earlier, I had tried to heat a tofu dog for Clara with the ketchup already on it, and it had exploded all over.  I brought out soap and a sponge and started scrubbing.  Clara chit-chatted with her reflection in the oven door.  She pulled at my sweats and fiddled with the hem of my T-shirt.

She craned her neck towards the microwave. "Me this this mai wannew. Do. Do. Do."

"Would you like to see what I'm doing?" I asked.

Her big blue eyes shone up at me and she nodded her head so hard her curls waggled.

"Hes."

Afterwards we went upstairs.  I washed my face and hers.  I put some of my face toner on a cotton swab and swabbed my face.  I let her have the cotton swab after, as is our custom.  She tilted her head up slightly, fluttered her lashes and swiped her chin with the swab.  Then, muttering softly, she took the dab of face lotion I gave her and put it on her cheek.  Then she rubbed some into my cheek.

I've learned I have to monitor her closely around the bathroom counters.  She once tried to rub toothpaste into her face like moisturizer.  Another time she took a bite out of my deodorant stick.