Don't think I'm playing

I used to tell our children that you can't go somewhere until your room is cleaned. I sort of backed off from doing that and let them go and half of the time, they would clean it when they got back. Well, our daughter's room looks like a whirlwind came through there, then a tornado came behind, and then a few pigs trumpled here and there. So since last Thursday, I told her that I know she would want to hang out with her best friend this weekend and said that she needs to get that room cleaned before then. She told me that she plans on cleaning it anyway because she did not want to leave her room like that while she would be gone for the entire weekend. I kept reminding her daily that her timeline is approaching and it is still not done. I even told her in advance that if it is not done, that she would not be going anywhere. She agreed it would be done.

When I got ready to leave for work, I see her bags packed sitting on the floor next to the couch. I asked her what were the bags for and she had no problem of reminding me that she was supposed to go over her friends house for the weekend. I told her that we had an agreement that she wasn't going until that room got cleaned. She said, "Yeah, about that, I just didn't have time." I said, "Yeah, about that, I don't have time to take you either." It may sound cruel but this was what we compromised upon was that, I do something for you, you do something for me.

It wasn't really about the entire room being cleaned. I told her that we are just trying to show her how things will be when she leaves home. She wants to go off to school and I told her that she can't keep a dorm like that, so don't keep your room like that. You can't be a responsible person away from home if you are not responsible at home because that is where it starts....at home.
~QUEENBEE~