Monday morning came around, and Joshua had to start school, before he left he gave Jo strict instructions on what needed doing that day before she went to work
He couldn't unclog the toilet, and he couldn't clean it until it was unclogged so she needed to do that
And the laundry needed to be picked up off the floor and taken to the laundrette
Despite several breakdowns during the morning, Jo managed to follow her son's instructions
The laundrette wasn't far from the Bistro, so she left early for work and stopped there to get the piles of dirty laundry clean
After putting the washing in the machine, Jo sat down to read while she was waiting
And did the same thing again once she'd transferred the clean laundry to the dryer
Once she'd done that it was time for work and she had to run to get there in time
Meanwhile, Joshua had decided to sign up for scouting after school
Having signed up, he spent some time in the main park, playing in the sandpit
Jo hadn't been able to fix the sink, so when Joshua got home he started cleaning again, telling Cosmo they had to clean before they could play
Since Jo had managed to unclog the toilet that morning, Joshua got started on cleaning that
Before mopping up some of the water from the floor in the kitchen
When Jo got home from work, Joshua pestered her into trying to clean the oven
Albeit her attempts met with little success
She did manage to read him to sleep though
As Joshua went to catch the school bus the next morning he worried about his mother, she needed so much pushing to get anything done and she just seemed to give up so easily
Back in the house, Jo was trying again to mend the sink
And she finally succeeded in fixing it and getting the oven cleaned up
She even managed to get the counter cleaned up
But then broke down in hysterics again, the place was such a state it would be better to burn it down and start from scratch, they'd never get it liveable in...
Joshua had had a field trip that day to the Bistro and as Jo arrived for work she passed him and his classmates leaving
Poor Jo. Although I will admit that her exclamation about burning the house down rather than cleaning it hits rather close to home. Most times, I feel the same way. Lol.
ReplyDeleteAnd as I stated last chapter, I'm glad to see Josh getting the house in order and also taking an active interest in the well-being of his mother. He is certainly mature for his age.
Yeah, Joshua is having to make up for his mother's lack of parenting by being the parent. You're doing a great job with the dysfunctional family dynamic.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that Jo has some positive support from Joshua, but it's so sad that he doesn't have anyone to support him. Hopefully he can stay strong.
ReplyDeleteAnd I agree with Giga, sometimes I feel like burning down my house would be easier than cleaning it - I blame my roommates. ><
I'm happy Joshua is taking charge, although I wonder what long term effects it is going to have on him in the future. Growing up too fast and without a responsible adult to look after you would be tough on a child.
ReplyDeleteAwwww, my heart is aching.
ReplyDeletePoor Joshua. I hope he doesn't become depressed as well.
ReplyDelete