Keep It Simple

By Kimberly Hicken

Excitement I Didn’t Want:

            It was Martin Luther King Day, and my kids were home from school. My teenage son Jacob and his friends had taken over the living room playing video games. I think there were about six teenage boys in the house eating my food and yelling at the television and each other. My two youngest kids had gone outside to play. Even though it was January, it was a mild day and what little snow we’d received earlier in the month had melted. The other kids were gone visiting friends, and I was stuck in the kitchen doing dishes.

            I heard the front door open and shut, but I ignored it. I was too focused on scrubbing burned lasagna off a pan. Then my youngest came running into the kitchen. “Mom!” she gasped, “Wesley started a fire behind Sherry’s house!”

            That got my attention! The dishes were forgotten. Our neighbor’s house was located next to a large vacant lot filled with weeds. It had been a dry winter, so I knew that any fire would spread fast and threaten the homes next to it.

            As I rushed through the living room, I yelled at the teenage boys, “Wesley started a fire! We need to put it out!”

            They dropped their controllers and sprang into action. It was the fastest I’d ever seen any of them move. “Grab our hose!” I yelled to one of them. I directed another one to pick up several buckets that we had sitting next to the house.

            Together we ran to the vacant lot. The fire was still small, but was slowly spreading. Luckily it was a calm day with only a slight breeze. The boy with the hose dashed over to Sherry’s house to attach it to her water spigot.

            At that moment, a different neighbor opened her door and called out, “The outside water is shut off for the winter!”

            Helplessly, I looked around at the boys. Two of the boys grabbed the buckets and ran back to my house where they began filling the buckets with water. As the buckets filled, they ran back to the fire and poured it on the flames. In the meantime, the rest of us started stamping out the flames with our feet. One enterprising young man ran into the garage and emerged with a shovel. He started digging a trench to try to stop the fire from spreading. One of the other boys tried moving some old pieces of wood before they caught fire as well.

            Even though it was a calm day, we were fighting a losing battle. I was about to call the fire department, when Jacob arrived on the scene. He was carrying the fire extinguisher I keep next to the kitchen. Without saying a word, he began spraying the extinguisher on the base of the flames. Within just a few seconds, the fire was out except for a few hot spots. The other boys took care of those with the buckets of water and the shovel. Jacob put the fire out so quickly and easily that it was almost anticlimactic.

The Takeaway:

I learned a really important and obvious lesson: Keep it simple! There wasn’t really anything wrong with the approaches that Jacob’s friends and I used to try to put out the fire. It’s just that Jacob’s way was faster, more effective, and way simpler. It was one of those moments when I found myself thinking: “Why didn’t I think of that?”

You may never face having to put out a fire started by your 7-year-old, but I think the lesson I learned that day applies to many of the crises I face as a mother. Let’s think about ways to Keep It Simple:

1. Your teenager has to bring 2 dozen cookies for a fundraiser, but she fails to mention this until the night before the cookies are needed. You can stay up late making the cookies and even go to the trouble of decorating them…

Or Keep It Simple

• Go to the grocery store and buy cookies from their bakery.
• Have your teenager make the cookies.
• Have your teenager make Rice Krispie treats.
• Find out how much they plan to make from your teenager, and just pay the money.

• The house needs cleaned, dinner needs fixed, and you have a project due at work. You can fix dinner, clean the house and then stay up late to get the project completed…

Or Keep It Simple

• Prioritize things and decide if something can be left out. Could the work project possibly have an extension on the deadline?
• Let the housework go. There will always be things to clean.
• Serve cold cereal or something equally easy for dinner. The kids will think you’re awesome, and it will free up some time for you to work on other tasks.

• You promised the kids that you would do something fun with them this weekend, but when the weekend rolls around you are broke. The kids want to go do something, but you don’t have the money. You can charge things on your credit card to please the kids…

Or Keep It Simple

• Have a picnic in the living room while watching a favorite television show.
• Build a fort out of blankets and have a sleepover inside.
• Go for a walk. Give the kids a list of items to locate on the walk.
• Go outside and play tag on the lawn.
• Get a coloring book and crayons and color together. (Even teenagers enjoy this.)
• Ask the kids what they want to do. You might be surprised at how simple their ideas are.

Everyone’s situation is different. There are some days when it almost seems impossible to find a simpler way of doing things. Those are the days when you ask for help: help with the tasks or help finding a simpler way to do things. You will be amazed at how willing people are to reach out and help you lighten your load just a smidgeon. Whatever life throws at you, whether it’s an unexpected bake sale or your 7 year old playing with matches in a vacant lot, remember the phrase: Keep It Simple.