My Boy. The Home Ec Honor Student.

I believe in equitable sharing of household duties, especially if it means I can pawn those duties off onto unsuspecting children.

Wait.  That sounds bad.

I believe in preparing children to live independently, so that when the time comes for them to leave the nest, they soar, rather than drop.

Yes. That's what I meant.

Sometimes it doesn't work. I'll never understand the trail of socks and dolls action figures my children leave in their wakes, nor the ability to clear the table after lunch, but leave all the silverware and napkins. It's just weird.

Sometimes, however, I see flashes of the kinds of men my boys will be when they grow up and leave home, and I get goosebumps on my arms and tears in my eyes. Last night was one of those times...

El doctor pantalones inteligentes had been out of town for a couple of nights, so I recorded American Idol and Glee so that we could watch them together when he got back. (Tuesday night TV belongs to Mama.  One night out of seven isn't too bad, right?) So last night, the whole family watched Idol, and then we sent the boys downstairs to play while the grownups watched Glee.

So, off they went, dolls action figures in hand, to play in their basement apartment bedroom.

When Glee was over, they came back up and we watched a little of the Idol results show before they had to go off to bed. They kissed me goodnight and went back down with Dr. SmartyPants for prayers and kisses and doll action figure playing, etc. He came back up the stairs laughing and shaking his head.

Apparently, while they were getting in the bed, Joshua suddenly remembered that he needed to put the clothes in the dryer. Smarty, thinking they must be clothes I had washed earlier in the day (or the day before...I'm frightfully forgetful), told Joshua that he'd better check them to see if they needed to be rewashed so they wouldn't stink.

Joshua looked at him with a confused expression on his face and said, "I just washed them a little while ago."

Yes. While we were upstairs watching Glee, Joshua (on his own) decided to do a load of laundry.

And he remembered to dry it.

I have no doubt that had it not been bedtime, he would have folded them and put them away.

Of course, I take full credit for this behavior. I did teach him how to use the washing machine and dryer, after all...