Spills

Earlier today I posted about the good & bad things about our vacation. The most difficult part was the situation at my brother' s house where they both were afraid that we were going to get a speck of dirt on their carpet or something like that. Mark and I were talking about the differences in reactions to spills. As most of you know, kids spill things. It happens quite often. Actually, most adults spill things too. Anyway, we had spills happen at three different relatives' homes and it is so funny to compare the very different reactions to the spills. It's also very revealing of the differing personalities. :)

FIRST SPILL
The first spill happened at Mark's brother's house. MG turned over a glass of water in the kitchen that went all over the floor and under the kiddy table. My extremely easy going sister-in-law aka mother of three boys said "Oh, don't worry about it... we'll just clean it up later." She insisted that we leave it there, and we all went into the living room to watch the kids and just left the mess for later!

SECOND SPILL
The second spill happened at my brother Andy's house. MG was putting her little bottle of orange drink on the table when she slipped with it in her hand and is spilled onto the kitchen floor. My brother said not to worry and he grabbed a dry paper towel and began cleaning it up. I suggested that he use water so that the floor wouldn't get sticky, so he then wet the paper towel and wiped up the mess. Then my sister-in-law with the corn cob stuck up her butt walked into the room. She became very stressed and was upset that we were using water instead of a special cleanser. She said "We can't let it get under the rug!", so my brother had to pull back the rug even though the spill had not gone near it. After that, we were fussed at about cleaning our feet, dropping food on the kitchen floor, etc. We were walking on egg shells.

THIRD SPILL
This one is my favorite. We were visiting my youngest brother Jason when MG (poor MG...it's always her) bumped some one's soda which spilled down under the couch and under the end table. My brother and sister-in-law laughed as my brother got down on his hands and knees to wipe it up with a dry cloth towel. He then peered under the couch and said "Hey! So that's where those books went!" The spill turned into a good thing because my brother began pulling out items that had fallen down behind the couch that he thought were lost. They were laughing about it the whole time. Funny, funny, funny!

******All these reactions perfectly illustrate the atmosphere in each home. So, what would your reaction be if a kid spilled a drink on your floor? Personally, I would reassure the child that it was OK. Next, I would happily clean it up. Then it would be forgotten. If it leaves a stain, I simply use the steam cleaner and stain remover when I get a chance. No big deal! :)