Organization – by Robin

I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I had to choke back tears…happy tears.  Tears of shock and disbelief.

This past weekend, Seth took it upon himself to organize his room. This was a first.  A BIG one. And, it came with no prompting whatsoever from me or his father.

Out of nowhere, he proudly announced that he was going to go through his drawers and started neatly folding clothes.  And, I mean shockingly neatly.  For more than 10 seconds he stayed on task.  He was focused and highly motivated.

What possessed him?

Was his 7 year old body invaded by a body snatcher?

I was completed taken aback.  My little guy is growing up, I thought.  And, fast.  He’s taking charge of his possessions.  At least some of them.

While I was tempted to watch him, I stayed away, for fear of turning him off to the endeavor.  Didn’t want to become mommy supervisor and suggest in any way that I was thrilled.  Didn’t want him to change his mind  and wind up leaving piles of shirts, shoes, socks, etc. for me to sort through.

As it turned out, he didn’t do a thorough job….not that I expected he would.  But, it was a great effort.  So, the next day, I took over.  A couple of socks are still missing their mate.  And, the unzipped leg from a pair of pants that converts into shorts is missing.  I imagine it will turn up one day when I’m not looking for it.  But, in the scheme of things, it’s not what’s missing that counts. It’s the mere fact that Seth even thought that organizing is a good thing and something he could initiate. I’d love him to bottle that desire.

Now, if he would only take the same approach with the many bins of toys he has…containing little pieces of G-d knows what. And, if he could take stock of his sunglasses, so I’m not constantly replacing them.   But, a proud mom can only hope for so much.

I recognize that organizing is a process, and one that I personally find challenging. So, Seth’s behavior was inspiring to me on various level.

This was a gigantic step in a positive direction.  I’m not holding my breath at the moment for many more days like this….at least not at his age….but one can dream.