crabbygirl reviewed Cleaning house by Kay Wills Wyma
Review of 'Cleaning house' on 'Goodreads'
1 star
the biggest thing(s) i got from this book was not the subject or what was actually said, but what i could read in between the lines:
and what i read/understood was how annoying/frustrating it must be to be married to an evangelical christian who is able to call god on her side for each and every marital spat (plus bring along your blog audience to witness your rightness/righteousness)
point of fact:
said author's husband (understandably) wants to NOT have their teenage son potentially damage their property while learning to do handy man jobs, while author feels just the opposite. author states that the ensuing argument was mutually forgiven that evening but they needed 3 days before they could discuss the incident (anyone else read that as: i wouldn't speak to him for 3 days?)
author gives lip service that her "wonderful, loving" husband deserves her respect in this matter but …
the biggest thing(s) i got from this book was not the subject or what was actually said, but what i could read in between the lines:
and what i read/understood was how annoying/frustrating it must be to be married to an evangelical christian who is able to call god on her side for each and every marital spat (plus bring along your blog audience to witness your rightness/righteousness)
point of fact:
said author's husband (understandably) wants to NOT have their teenage son potentially damage their property while learning to do handy man jobs, while author feels just the opposite. author states that the ensuing argument was mutually forgiven that evening but they needed 3 days before they could discuss the incident (anyone else read that as: i wouldn't speak to him for 3 days?)
author gives lip service that her "wonderful, loving" husband deserves her respect in this matter but can't help but include scripture that supports HER argument that god trusts and needs man to care for the earth and it's creatures...
so let's see: hubby against wife and god. who do you think will win? (not to mention that she gets to re/interpret the argument's details for her blog audience and be sure she comes off as respectful, reasonable, and loving.
and the god angle bugged me too. the first few chapters had NO mention of god. then there were sprinkles of youth groups and hints that friends homeschooled, it progressed to church attendance, and then direct references to our lord and saviour. it's obvious her publisher told her to can it on the religion talk until folks got fully into the text.
and she had some ridiculous advice sprinkled in there:
like kids earning cash by setting up a lemonade stand (hello? every town has a bylaw against selling food without a licence)
like suggesting the 'trash-bag tango' (this is where everyone gets 2 trash bags and fills one with trash, and one with stuff to give away) ok, that sounds fine you might say. but she suggests doing this twice a week! with 5 kids and 2 parents, that's 28 bags of stuff leaving your home A WEEK. wouldn't you empty your home within a month?!
and the thing that bothered me most: paying kids for chores. this goes in direct contradiction to one of the author's essential points: self esteem. being paid one dollar to clean your room doesn't give self esteem. helping out your family, in a meaningful way, will do that. if the only recognition you receive for your efforts (instead of acknowledgment, or praise, for example) is a dollar, you'll quickly lose interest.