Housework or Houseplay?

Life is all perception, right?  Right.  So the other night I found myself in typical fashion on my hands and knees sweeping the kitchen floor.  Hazel approached in excitement seeing the dustpan and broom as nothing more than toys.  I denied her the opportunity to play because I wanted to finish this simple task of cleaning the floor. She protested the rejection and cried to have the toys in her hands.  I realized as I looked at the frustration that was growing in my body for having to even clean in the first place, that I saw these two items in my hands as tools to do work, whereas Hazel saw them as toys to do play.  If I simply changed my perception of what I was doing, playing instead of working, then the whole process of cleaning becomes a source of joy instead of resentment.  Funny how perception works.  So I finished my sweep, dumped the dirt in the trashcan (literally and figuratively) and gave the toys to Hazel to play.   I'd much rather play than work any day, anytime.