Friday, July 18, 2008

Sock It To Me!

***Posted for Patty Wysong's Fiction Fridays. For more great fiction, click here: http://pattywysong.blogspot.com


As mom and wife, it was uncomfortable. Being in the middle of a conflict, that is--one that I probably had some to do with creating myself. Too late now, though. I'll just have to let the consequences unfold.

“DAD, This is so lame,” our daughter Alyssa said as she stormed into our room. Her mouth proved itself teen-worthy.

My husband responded. “Lame, huh?”

“You have no right to barricade my room, Dad,” she barked, “blocking off my closet and drawers with bright orange tape!”

I held back the giggle that was begging to come out and ducked out of the room as inconspicuously as possible.

“I should’ve done it a long time ago, Alyssa,” Steve argued back. “I’ve told you a hundred times that as long as you’re living in this house, you will keep your room picked up.”

Alyssa huffed as her heavy feet spoke on her behalf all the way back to her room. “It’s not FAIR!” she screamed while tearing down the barrier to her room.

Exasperated, Steve came into the living room where I was working a crossword puzzle. “I’m so tired of this, Elaine.” My side of the loveseat sprung me in the air as he sat down beside me.

“Ok, Dad,” Alyssa walked into the room in submission. “I get the point.”

He stood up and touched her shoulder tenderly, “Alyssa, I warned you that if you didn’t get your room clean by last weekend that you would be punished. I’ve given you grace all week, but now I’ve got to ground you until it’s finished.”

“WHAT?!? But that’s not fair!” Her mascara-stained cheeks were about to see a new jet-black trail of tears.

Alyssa’s younger brother always walked in at the perfect time. “What’s goin’ on?” he spouted off cluelessly.

“None of your business, Caleb!” Alyssa stomped off a second time and slammed her door when she reached her construction zone.

Caleb looked dumbfounded. “What’s wrong with her?”

“The same thing that’s going to be wrong with you in a minute,” Steve warned.

“What'd I do?”

“You promised me two weeks ago that you would pick up all the Play Station discs laying around in the game room,” he scolded. “Some of them have huge scratches now.”

“K, Dad. I’ll do it later.” He turned around and started to strut out of the room.

“No, son,” my husband corrected, “you’ll do it now.”

He made one last attempt. “Mom, tell Dad he’s being lame…”

I stood up and tried to look serious. “No, Caleb. He’s right.”

“What a way to spend a weekend,” he sassed as he made his exit.

Steve spent a good while pouring out his heart to me after that. “It’s like nobody wants to do their work, Lainey. That can’t be God’s best for our family.”

“You’re right, Steve,” I consented.

He turned his face to me and looked me straight in the eye. “Are you in a defensive mood today?”

“Uh,” I hesitated, “I’m ok—shoot!” I tried to belt out positively.

“Well, it’s like that pile of socks in our room. I know you don’t like me to help with the laundry, Hon, but honestly, I don’t think I can stand it anymore….”

He sat down again and shuffled through my almost-completed crossword magazine.

“What? You don’t like having them all in one place to choose from?” I winked at him.

I could tell he felt disgusted with himself for even mentioning it.

“Well, do you mind finishing my puzzle for me, sweetie? I’ve got a sock-ade to tackle!” I looked at him with a loving twinkle in my eye.

He stood up and gleamed, “I’d much rather help a beautiful lady with a horribly boring task, so…sock it to me!”

“How ‘bout you go pick us up some tacos instead?” I pleaded. “Looks like we’re all going to be working into the evening.”

“Deal!” He grabbed his keys and skipped out of the room. “And she still won’t let me help with the laundry,” he muttered under his breath.

As I separated the mound of socks in our bedroom, I admitted to the Lord that I was having a difficult time completing the mundane tasks around me and asked for His help.

My prayer was interrupted by three loud honks outside the window. Alyssa, Caleb and I ran out the door only to see Steve’s car dead in the middle of the street.

“The car is out of gas!” He yelled. “I thought I could make it to a gas station before I ran out.”

Pushing the car back into the driveway, we all had a good laugh. Steve was a good sport, although…

…The kids really socked it to him.

15 friends shared a comment:

Sara Harricharan said...

ROFL! I love this one! Especially that "sock it to me" line. Too, too funny! I loved the teen voice of 'poor' Alyssa and trying to finish the crossword puzzle, simply hilarous. Great job! ^_^

Sita said...

Had a good laugh...scene any family with teens can relate to..hey, thanks for dropping by with encouragment...look forward to reading more of your blog...blessings..
Sita

Tracy said...

Too funny! Boy, does this sound like a 'typical' family! Great way to capture what I think is reality for many of us. Blessings my friend! :)

Julie Arduini said...

Love it, Laura! I think you were spying on us...

Sock it to me is perfect!

Marie said...

This had me laughing out loud. Right on with the teenage mind set.

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

One thing that's I've learned with having 3 kids is that they will suck it out of you but as long as my husband and I are in agreement with everything it makes life a lot easier. Keeping the marriage strong is so important when tackling just the every day things, like KIDS! I'm glad your night ended on a laugh. Did you ever get the tacos? lol.
Blessings,
Kim

much2ponder said...

I popped in to see what all the racket is coming from over here. Hope you don't mind. I love your blog design. Very nice. I will be back again to check things out.

LauraLee Shaw said...

Hi Kim,
Fortunately this isn't a true story. I just chose the first person because I thought it was the most effective for this piece. My son, who is 13, does a pretty good job of keeping his room clean, my 10 year old daughter is the neatest in the house, but this story could become a true one when my 8 year old grows up! She's a messy like her mommy!

My hope for the piece was that it would be exaggerative and humorous enough to entertain, but just true enough to convey a message to each member of the family who might be represented in the story. ;)

LauraLee Shaw said...

Oh, well...er...um...except the messy mommy part is true (and the sockade). ;)

Kim @ Homesteader's Heart said...

OK I need to stop taking everything literally lol. I was starting to think your family was falling apart ha ha! I'm a bit dense sometimes. Thanks for clearing it up for me hee hee! And thank you for your nice comments on my birthday blog.
Blessings,
Kim

Joanne Sher said...

Is this an old challenge entry, Laura? It feels familiar - anyhow, I LOOVVVEEE it! I hate how much I can relate - but that's the point, eh? ;)
Excellent, sweetie

Dee Yoder said...

Ewww...I can't stand folding laundry, sorting socks...I love the pile, too, but hate looking at it even more, so I give in and put it away at some point. ( ; Boy, can I relate to this one.

elaine healy said...

this laine is hiding her socks under the bed!!

Patty Wysong said...

LoL--I love this one! The week you wrote this, both Laury and I wrote about messy rooms too! (before you and I knew eachother) Too funny!

Josh said...

Glad I scrolled down on your blog a bit, because I must have overlooked this one. Very fun, and there is a good message "socked" away in there. Everyone is susceptible to falling into the trap of laziness, and God doesn't want us to be lazy.

I'm glad that the family was able to work together and have fun completing their chores.

Your stories always bless me and give me new insights. Keep em' coming!