Why I Went on Strike from Motherhood this Morning?

     This morning, I slept in. I did not slide my lethargic body out of bed with my alarm at 6 a.m. I shut it down and half an hour later, I opened both my son's doors and told them I was on strike. I calmly informed them that they would be responsible for getting up and dressed, feeding themselves breakfast, making their lunch, filling their water bottles, brushing their teeth, and making sure we were out the door on time. I them went back to bed, ignoring the wail of protests chasing me into my room.
     Now, despite a serious need for coffee this morning same as any morning, I did not wake up in a bad mood and a Disneynesque evil-stepmother desire to torture my kids and make them my little slaves. I woke and went back to bed with the purpose of teaching a lesson. My sons needed to see how much I do and stop taking advantage of my mothering them.
     This does not mean I will stop cleaning and caring for them. I know what I signed up for when I saw that frisky gleam in my husband's eye nine-years ago and decided to have children. I am currently doing their laundry and have done the dishes and will pick them up at the bus stop, feed them dinner, and take them to soccer practice. I am just asking them to do their share in this social contract of being a family and not treating me as their maid and cook. Plus, I am teaching them skills and responsibility.
     I believe in our desire to be kind and attentive to our kids and make their lives special, we over do it. And we short-change them out of necessary life skills. Because honestly are we being kind if in the long run, we send kids out to college or real life without the ability to manage their time, clean, feed themselves, and remember their own belongings. Isn't this why colleges are now offering adulting classes for teens whose parents "kinded" them into a helpless state. And isn't our job as parents to make them self-sufficient, empathetic, and kind adults. I feel like I owe that to them, society, and the world - to produce a decent human being, not an entitled little brat.
     My kids are quite capable of getting themselves ready for school, something I had to do every day since age eight as my mom was already at work by the time I left for the day. It's just that my kids act helpless because I do it for them. Remember, necessity is the mother of invention. So while my oldest son screamed from the kitchen that he couldn't peel the ham apart for his sandwich, after a few minutes of ignoring him, he figured it out. And my youngest discovered that if he placed the step stool near the fridge, he could reach the mayo.
     I also made my oldest responsible for getting his poky younger brother up and out the door. Consequently, he discovered the fun of being a nag and learned how annoying it is when no one listens to you and makes you repeat things over and over.
     So while they learned about the duties of motherhood, I played the part of child. I had to be coaxed out of bed. Then I took my leisurely time getting my coffee and playing with my phone, enjoying the simple pleasures, basically being them.
     See this all began last night after a sweet cuddle watching the Little Prince when I discovered that my oldest had been hiding half-sucked cherry sours in my bathroom and under the bedside table and my youngest had ignored my request to pick up his desk and put his clothes away. They both said sorry hoping that would amend all wrongs and informed me that they were too tired to do anything. In turn, I told them I was tired too after cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the house and life while they sat and watched their shows on the television or played video games or read. Things I don't get to do until they are finally in bed for the night, something usually delayed repeatedly by my youngest. So I too didn't have the energy to clean up their messes after a long day and wanted to rest, like they were doing. I told them they could clean up after school. Of course, a loud roar of protest could be heard miles away as they both wailed and gnashed their teeth, declaring that they wanted to play after school. That life was unfair and why did they have to do everything. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
     Instead of continuing to waste my breath and energy, I'd show them what doing everything looked like. And that is why I went on strike from motherhood this morning.