<\/p>\n
For almost 48 hours, my kids have finally entered the real world of American communication\u2013texting. <\/span><\/p>\n Two weeks ago, Scott said if they cleaned up the kitchen every day including dishes, wiping the table\/counters and sweeping, all without complaining and fighting, he would start the family text plan. <\/span>Of course, they were all supposed to be doing the above chores anyway, but the key phrase was \u201cwithout complaining and fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t want to hear you argue over who does more or who does less,\u201d he commanded, \u201cIf you want to text, then do it all even if your sibling\u2019s not cooperating. <\/span>I don\u2019t want to hear about it!\u201d<\/p>\n So our middle child, Kai, took it upon herself to win texting for herself. <\/span>And she did a great job\u2014my kitchen hasn\u2019t looked so good after dinner in 14 years\u2014in fact, it probably hasn\u2019t looked so good ever. <\/span><\/p>\n When she complained and her siblings both said, \u201cI don\u2019t care about texting,\u201d she shut her mouth and kept cleaning. <\/span>And I gave both siblings long lectures that negated the whole point of not getting aggravated around family chores.<\/p>\n So on Tuesday, Scott called AT & T and turned it on, then texted them to break the news. <\/span>Here are the family texts I\u2019ve received in these 48 momentous hours since:<\/p>\n Tuesday:<\/p>\n Scott (1:50 p.m.): <\/span>Text away! <\/span><\/p>\n Scott (2:43 p.m.): <\/span>Huh? <\/span>No response?<\/p>\n Kai (2:49 p.m.): <\/span>Mom I can text now. <\/span>Wanna go out for ST [special time]<\/p>\n Kai (3:09 p.m.): <\/span>THANKS DAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! <\/span>I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!<\/p>\n Ling (8:25 p.m.): <\/span>Come get me plz<\/p>\n Wednesday:<\/p>\n Kai (7:17 a.m.): <\/span>Heyyy mom<\/p>\n Kai (2:19 p.m.): <\/span>Hey<\/p>\n Kai (3:30 p.m.): <\/span>My sister is a stinky diper. <\/span>Oops lol<\/p>\n Ren (4:02 p.m.): <\/span>Can you help me with a little math and the memory book thing for sp. [special time again]<\/p>\n So the earth hasn\u2019t stopped, they haven\u2019t committed any major faux pas (to my knowledge), our communication continues verbally with a little digital enhancement, and I haven\u2019t seen any great addition to their social life. <\/span>In fact, I think Ren, the 10 year old boy, is the one who\u2019s texting his one friend the most, maybe not surprising in light of male communication patterns. <\/span><\/p>\n So far so good. But watch out kids if that kitchen doesn\u2019t stay clean!!! <\/p>\n <\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" For almost 48 hours, my kids have finally entered the real world of American communication\u2013texting. Two weeks ago, Scott said if they cleaned up the kitchen every day including dishes, wiping the table\/counters and sweeping, all without complaining and fighting, he would start the family text plan. Of course, they were all supposed to be […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1263,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n