Earning his keep

James has begun to help with chores.

Okay, by "help" I don't really mean that he assists me at all, or makes housework any easier, but he tries to help, and it is seriously adorable.

His favorite chore to participate in is laundry. I think it is because he can fit most of his body in the machines, and then when he "talks" it echos. Every time I do laundry, he insists on "helping" me. His definition of "help" is as follows:
- Take dirty clothes that have not been washed out of the washing machine, and put them on the floor.
- Take wet clothes that need to be placed in the dryer out of the washing machine, and put them on the floor.
- Take clean, dry clothes out of the dryer, and put them on the floor.

Although none of these tasks make my life any less complicated, I encourage him to do it because he enjoys it and he feels like he is helping. After all, that is what raising a child is all about, right? Children do not make our lives any less complicated, but we hope that they will grow up to be joyful people who want to help the world.

But truthfully, I just hope that one day he will actually help with laundry.

Every once in a while I am able to strategically sneak blankie away from James' grasp and stuff it into the washing machine with the rest of the clothes (it pretty much always needs a wash since it goes everywhere with us). I always let James empty the dryer when blankie is in there. When he finds blankie, it is clean and warm. This results in a dramatic reunion as James giggles and buries his face in blankie, as if it had been years (and not mere hours) since he had seen it.