Amelia Bedelia

I don't know if you know what I'm talking about when I say "Amelia Bedelia" but if you don't let me explain just a little bit. Growing up my mom and dad would read Amelia Bedelia books to me. They are books that used a play on words. Amelia Bedelia (you can't just say 'Amelia') became a housekeeper for this family and she would always mess things up but think she was doing them right. She had a list of chores to do and would always do them wrong. For example the list would say "draw the drapes" (meaning open/close them) but she would get a piece of paper and literally draw the draps. The other one that comes to mind is "dust the living room." So she got some powder to dust the living room saying "I don't know why someone would want dust in their living room." Ok, so she took things literally--I have a point and am getting to it I promise--and did exactly what she was told, even though it wasn't what it was expected of her.

The other day I was doing laundry and decided I would get Lindsey to help. So I told her "Go to your room, pull your dirty clothes basket out of the closet. Then make piles of colored clothes and white clothes." We talked about waht she had on had lots of colors and some things would just be white. So off she goes to her room. She comes back and says "Mom, they are getting all messed up." Being the neat and organized child that she is I just said, "Yes, when we put our clothes in a pile it looks messy, but we are going to wash them so it is ok. Just go finish the clothes." She comes out not very long later with this horrible look on her face and says "They are just messed up." So I go into her room and see what is "messed up." She pulled her dirty clothes basket out of the closet and THEN Amelia Bedila took her clothes WITH HANGERS and started piling them in the floor. (The dirty clothes are ALL still in the basket that is pulled out of the closet!) So what was messed up was all the hangers, not the dirty clothes. Bless her heart. She had a great pile of coloreds and whites going!

She did exactly what I told her: pull your basket out and make a pile of colored clothes and white clothes! I guess I just didn't say DIRTY clothes! :) So we hung the others back up and seperated our dirty clothes!