Judah's Helpfulness

Last night we had some friends over for our small group time. We visited and enjoyed one another's company amidst the delight and dismay of our children's play. Occasionally one of the kids would come out complaining about Judah whom we would swiftly speak to and discipline if necessary, but the screams were more often that of joy and not pain. At one point in the evening, Judah came to Faith and told her that his sock was wet and that he put it in the dryer. Of course, we thought this was fine. I had forgotten that last time we gathered together Seth, the youngest of the group, had played with the buttons on the dryer and washing machine and I had locked them as a preventative measure. Of course, I had inadvertantly locked Faith out of them, and was almost in tears when I arrived home because it would be the third or fourth time we would have had to call a repairman to fix the washing machine because it stopped working. I swiftly unlocked them and was punched in the shoulder.

Anyway, toward the end of the evening I went down to the end of the trailer to use the facilities, and lo and behold, the washing machine was frothing and spinning back and forth. It appeared to be just water, so I was about to chalk it up to some kid just playing with the buttons. Then I saw the sock and remembered what Judah had said. The machine was turned to "Wool" and "Hot/Cold", so I know that there was some determination as he worked his way toward the "Start" button to activate the sleeping appliance. After I drained the soapy water, I discovered one lone sock, wet just like he had told us, in the bottom of the washing machine. I have no idea where the other one was. I even checked the dryer. Oh well.

If we teach him how to use the appliances, do you think he will do the laundry for us? Or just burn the place down? Either option might be advantageous to us (kidding)...

- Mark