Three Birds...One Stone

I was working on borrowed time.  I was getting a lot done so far for the day, and yet, my "To Do" list still didn't seem to be growing any shorter.  Laundry, laundry and more laundry, grocery list to contemplate and write out, meals to plan, family birthday party meal for my two boys to think about and typical household up-keep.  You get the picture.  I knew one of my kids was going to come to me any minute with an "I'm bored" or "There's nothing to do" or "Can I watch TV/play the Wii/play my DS".  Or they would want to launch into a project that required my assistance/supervision.  I had Evan working on his 4-H demonstration.  The look on Jenna and Owen's face was that of sharks circling a stranded swimmer (me).  I looked at my pile of laundry, I looked at them, back at the laundry.  I had to think quick.  Those towels weren't going to fold themselves.

"Hey!"  I said, with probably too much enthusiasm, "how about you two sit down together with a stack of books and, Jenna, you can read to Owen and you will both be able to count that as your daily reading time!"  And just like that, they walked over to the bookshelf, made their selections, snuggled up in a chair together and Jenna began to read.  And read she did.  The characters' voices had expression.  The suspenseful moments were delivered with intrigue.  The silly parts were read with pleasure.  And Owen...he was her captive audience. 

And my towels?  They got folded with nary an interruption!