CSI-Mommy Style

Most of us know that CSI on TV is a criminal investigative show. I personally don't think I have ever watched a whole episode. But their acronym "C.S.I." is very popular in our home and most of the people that live there don't even realize it.

 

For me...CSI stands for Clever Simple Instructions. It is when I take obscure moments and use them as teaching opportunities for the family. It can happen during cooking, shopping, driving, ironing, laundry, flat ironing hair, reading...any moment can be used to double as an opportunity to share, to learn, to probe, to correct, to teach.

 

My mom was the master at this. She would personally iron all 25 of my dad's dress shirts usually on Saturdays. We would go to choir rehearsal and by the time we got back in the afternoon she would be all set up with board, starch and iron ready to go. She would begin by asking us about rehearsal and then while we were eating lunch and watching her iron the conversations would turn to school, the arguement with had with each other, our chores, how much money we had saved, who was the new girl in the marching band and what we were wearing to church the next day. She also of course use that time to teach us how do whatever it was she was doing. So if she was ironing...she taught us how to iron. So much so, that I though my mom is left handed and we are not- My sister and I both iron and wash dishes like a left handed person.

I won't forget moments like that. She would walk the aisles in the grocery store and make us add and subtract and figure out percentages. We were crossing off items on the list and looking for the best deals for meat at 10 and 12 years old. We were doing "what not to wear" episodes long before the show came out. At the mall, at church, walking down the street...my mom would see something and just give us that look that said "if you ever think about going out of the house like that..think again.

What made me think of that was just recently I was ironing a shirt for my husband and I sprayed it with lavender linen water. My daughter Jordan asked me why I was doing that. I told her it was because I care and noone cares for him like me. I care about how my husband looks and I care that the simplest things that I can do for him...a calming scent on a shirt...a crease in the pants are just little things that he may or may not notice to show him that I love him. I told her it was sort of like when I put hot cheetos in her lunch..and then she was like OH!!! I get it. (I HATE those fatty, salty things...and when they get them its a treat...an exception..a little thing that's a big deal). But she won't forget that...one day when she is ironing for her child, or her husband she may go the extra mile because of mommy's CSI moment.

The day seems to end before it starts somedays. But multi-tasking is a great way to sneak in moments of instructions and guidance. It may be seemingly easier to delegate things to other people or hire help but you are loosing prime opportunities to sow wisdom and instruction to those who matter most if you don't use your free time correctly. To the rest of us on earth who don't really have free time you can use what you have-"non free time" to get a morsel of teaching in. Plan Plan Plan...for example...When I take Jordan to Ballet practice it is prime time to talk about school and upcoming assignments. When I am cooking, it great to talk to whoever is around about health and wellness...and what certain spices are used for...and while I'm ironing...its a great time to talk about....well, Cheetos.