Laundry

Laundry is something I used to dread.  Having as many bodies as we do creating smelly dirty laundry that is always piling up is a huge hassle.  Folding is always being put off and finding clean socks is a mess at my house.  It makes me feel like a failure to have to buy new socks simply because they aren't matched and put away yet.  Kids leaving socks out on the lawn doesn't help either.  But today after staring at the mounds of laundry I had waiting for me I had a new thought.  That laundry has been so patiently waiting for me for like... 4 days.  And not a peep has it made!  Laundry is really really patient.  I should be so patient.  Laundry is kind.  Never an ill phrase is uttered by the laundry.  Laundry never critisizes.  JW could learn a thing or two from the laundry.  Laundry is a good listener.  You may laugh at this but I have vented many times out loud while folding the laundry and I never get interupted.  There may be a sound of static every once in a while (I don't use fabric softener at all- does that rock your world or what?) but that is all- it's almost like an 'ummhmm' when that happens.  Laundry doesn't care if you shift it from room to room, tucking it out of sight when you have a guest coming over and you need to have seating for them.  It always loves you, and keeps coming back week after week.  

One thing I dislike though, and must be mentioned here is when I go to the trouble of doing the laundry and then the kids don't appreciate it at all.  I am sure I was the same as a kid.  But there is one form of unappreciativness that I find most offensive.  It is the act of putting things in the dirty clothes that are not actually dirty.  The reason for putting things in there is obvious to all mothers, but in case you aren't a mother let me point it out to you.  If you are too lazy to put it away,  then throw it in the hamper.  I have even discovered unused still rolled up socks in the dirty clothes hamper!  The inefficiency and ingratitude (two of my most disliked things on the planet) of it all is enough to make me see red!  So last year I started something called 'laundry violations' at my house.  If I find belts, ties, clean clothing, etc in the laundry I start tallying up marks by the culprit's name and by the end of the laundry day the one with the most hash marks owes me some laundry time.  That's right- they have to do the laundry for me for a few loads.  That'll teach em!  Well- it hasn't so far, but I can always dream right?