* I do not "allow" Clay to have his bedroom (or bathroom) in such deplorable condition.
* He is not, and has never, been allowed to take food out of the kitchen to the back of the house.
* Although this has been a hard and fast rule in our home forever and ever and ever, since he turned into a human garbage disposal teenager, he takes food back to his room. We HAVE tried grounding him, taking privileges away, etc. It doesn't make a difference. He continues to take food to his room.
* Both children are supposed to keep their rooms clean and make their beds every day. Clay used to, before he became a hormonal, teenager whose life revolves around sleeping, eating, and thinking about girls.
* I used to go back and clean it for him, and then lecture him about KEEPING it clean. I used to yell, and nag, and get all upset, and generally look something like this:
(except with darker hair, of course!)
Now, in order to maintain a healthy blood pressure and a more "zen" like attitude, I generally take this approach:
Or this one:
* I DO still venture back to the pigsty, his room occasionally, just to see if we are in danger of having the house condemned...but for the most part I have adopted the "Don't ask, Don't tell" philosophy. It's healthier (for me, anyway), and it has really cut down on our liquor bill.
*(P.S....ummm, that was a joke. About the liquor. Really.)
*(P.P.S....Clay was a bit annoyed with me because he thought that I "made" him look like a "loser" and Paige look like a "hero". Hmmm...I think that I just reported the facts, but in the interest of fairness I will tell you that Clay really...um, well, he always...right. OK. Um, Clay always, REALLY, really means to keep his room clean. He has good intentions. Yeah. that's it. Good intentions.)
