I think I am proud of myself, raising older kids

[Zoe Girl]

Today no one had work or school or anything (kids are 21, 18 and 14). So I went to work as usual and then really stocked up on groceries, and then came home to the kitchen totally dirty. So i followed through on what I do, I unpacked the groceries, said 'see ya' and went to get myself dinner alone. I got a little grouchiness, they called to say they were doing dishes right then, but I stuck to my resolve.

When I got back they had done the dishes and made themselves dinner. Okay, feel like they could have learned this the first dozen times I did it but today I didn't make any reminders and i guess between the 3 of them they forgot. Well that is life.

[Wildflower]

Good for you for sticking to your resolve. They are learning....slowly, but surely. But progress is being made and that is good....

[peggy]

Absolutely stick to it. As wildflower said, they are learning. If they did things right the first or second time, they wouldn't be called "kids", and we'd be out of a job!
I found, like you, that just quietly and pleasantly holding my resolve worked so much better than angry words, slammed doors or arguments. They were warned of consequence ahead of time, and I simply held them to it. It will work.

[Selah]

They may be on a slow learning curve, but it is working! Good for you and even better for them!

[IshbelRobertson]

At their ages, they shouldn't NEED to be told!

[Zoebird]

it is part of the age to be messy. no, i'm serious. i still remember those days and how I could be very self centered, lazy, disinterested, rude (eg, not cleaning dishes or up after yourself is rude), and that i didn't seem to mind the mess.

and, there might hvae been something about stirring up my mother too. like, i knew she would get cranky, but i also know that she would do those dishes while she was cranky.

now I do these things -- clean up after myself -- but it took me quite a long time to "grow up."

so, as they say here, "good on ya!" :D