Sticky Spoons

Cole is starting kindergarten in a few days. And it seems that over the past few months, he has grown in responsibility and independence by leaps and bounds.

For one thing, he now clears his dishes from the table after a meal. He's been doing this for at least three months now. And I feel incredibly proud!

He usually knows to ask politely, "May I please be excused" when he's finished his supper. Then he carefully balances his dishes in his arms and carries them into the kitchen. Sometimes he tries to carry everything in one trip and it all comes crashing down on the floor, carrots and hotdog pieces littering the kitchen tiles. Sometimes, when he places the milk on the only shelf he can reach in the refrigerator, it's too close to the edge and the next time someone opens the door, it splats open on the ground. Sometimes, he tries to grip the cup with his teeth as he yanks the fridge door open and the cup falls to the ground.

Tonight, I was watching my son with immense pride, as he cleared his dishes from the table. He took three trips. He carried his dinner plate to the garbage, emptied the food scraps into the compostable garbage, then set his plate on the counter next to the sink. He went back to the table and retrieved his cup of milk and put it carefully in the fridge. Then he disappeared into the dining room and returned with the fork he'd used to eat his hot dogs. And without missing a beat, he pulled open the cutlery drawer and dropped the fork in with all the other ones and gently closed the drawer.