There are moments in parenting when you realize you are not raising a child… you are raising a force. Yesterday was one of those days.
It began innocently enough.
My daughter stood in the kitchen, surveying it like nothing was good enough, like her mom clearly wasn’t doing her job properly. She stared dramatically at the toaster as if it had personally wronged her ancestors.
“No one has cleaned this in centuries”, she announced.
Before I could intervene (or even process the accusation), she had already taken matters into her own hands. Armed with a headphone amd rubber gloves, she began “mopping” the crumb tray grid at the bottom. But that clearly wasn’t enough. She was convinced there were crumbs deep within the body of the toaster. So naturally, she escalated. She grabbed a soaked paper towel because, obviously, water + electricity = a brilliant idea. (She unplugged first, clearly inherited her mom’s careful gene, hehe).
She watched in slow motion as the paper towel disappeared… into one of the toaster slot.
Silence.
Then:
“It’s stuck.”
Of course it is.
But did she stop there? No. Because problem-solving is her passion.
Next came… a floss toothpick.
Yes. A tiny plastic stick meant for teeth was now promoted to toaster rescue equipment. She poked it in.
It got stuck.
Now we had a situation:
One soggy paper towel lodged inside, One toothpick trapped in solidarity, One child still confident she was doing the right thing.
At this point, even she paused.
“I think we need Baba.”
Ah yes. The universal escalation protocol.
Enter Baba.
He surveyed the scene like a man who once believed he’d just have a normal day. Within minutes, the toaster was flipped, examined, and because why not, unscrewed.
Yes. Unscrewed.
Suddenly, our kitchen counter looked like a crime scene:
Toaster parts everywhere , screws rolling like tiny escape artists, paper towel remnants clinging for dear life , toothpick pieces emerging like artifacts from an archaeological dig
There was struggle. There was silence. There were moments of deep reflection about life choices.
But eventually… victory.
Everything was removed.
The toaster was reassembled.
We all stepped back.
Baba plugged it in.
And now?
It works.
Technically.
But every time we use it, we stand a safe distance away, press the lever gently, and wait… like we’re defusing a bomb.
Will it toast?
Will it spark?
Will it send us into another century?
No one knows.
But one thing is certain:
My daughter has officially cleaned something that didn’t ask to be cleaned… and turned a regular Sunday into a full family event.
And honestly?
The toaster may never be the same.
But neither are we.
Should I be proud of her initiative… or start hiding all the appliances?
~QuratulAin Hamza
QuratulAin Hamza 