Clean Free Zone

My eleven-year-old son has declared his room to be a Clean Free Zone.

 

I affectionately call his room the Wrecking Zone. It looks like a tornado went through there.  I'm actually thinking of getting some yellow caution tape and taping it across his bedroom door.

 

We have had many (like a bajillion) talks about his room and the necessity of keeping it somewhat clean and neat.

He had THREE top reasons as to why his room is fine the way it is.

 

Reason number one.  The Berenstain Bears story.

 

I knew those Berenstain Bears story books would end up giving me trouble.  Thanks to this popular series that infiltrated our home a few years ago, my son has developed the crux of his argument.

 

"Mom, don't you remember that story about Papa Bear and his tools in the tool shed?  Papa would keep all his tools scattered everywhere and he could just look around the room and find whatever he was looking for. Then when Mama and Sister Bear went and cleaned it up, Papa could not find any of his tools. It took twice as long to get anything done, because he couldn't see where his tools were."

 

So my son has decided that based on this example it "helps" him to have a messy room. "Mom, I can find things easily."

 

Well, okay then.  I'm just not so sure I'm convinced.

 

The second "reason" my son gave me as to why he should not have to clean up his room is a doozy. "Mom, I just don't want to pick up all those things in my room." 

 

Well the nerve of moi. "You don't want to and I want you to.  Hmm, let me think here.  Guess what? We'll be doing it my way."

 

"But Mo-ooom."

 

"When you grow up and move out of the house and pay your own bills, then by all means, you can keep your place a pigsty.  In the meantime, we'll be doing it my way."

(smile)

 

His last reason was my personal favorite.  Oh yes, I did a mental double-take when I heard this wonderful vocal nugget spill out of his mouth: "Mom, do you want me to spend all my time cleaning instead of spending time with my family?"

 

My son's day consists of: going to school, playing with friends, video games, watching ICarly (yes, my son watches and loves this show) and SpongeBob Square Pants television marathons, playing after-school sports,  going to guitar lessons and practicing the guitar, attending Boy Scouts. Oh yeah, we also have this "little" thing called homework that he has to do.  Trust me "spending time with the family" is pretty far low on his list.

 

So a little cleaning is going to deprive our fine young boy of "spending time with the family?"

 

Yes, I'm still laughing at that one too.