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How many loads of laundry will the average mother do in her lifetime?
The thought amuses me while I fold. I should Google it – I am sure someone has come up with a number – but I won’t. I have too much laundry to put away before I go pick up Jackson from bike camp.
I smile at how normal and boring my life is – a husband who is home every night, a son who is happy and healthy, and a pile of housework that greets me every morning. There are no airplanes to catch and fancy events to dress up for. There is no one stopping us for autographs or stalking us for pictures. We are average. Not rich, not poor. Not famous, not lonely. Normal.
Once upon a time, when I lived in teenage skin and looked at the world with impatience and ambition, such a fate terrified me. I craved action and wanted everyday to be different. The repetitive beat of nine to five, home for dinner and in bed by ten was not for me. I desperately searched for a way to escape. Drawn to the life of constant motion, fame and drama, I dated (unhappily) a musician for three years.
Fortunately I grew up.
And instead I married a man whom I adored. With no promise of wealth or fast paced living, I settled into normal. And it felt good.
Now I’m home everyday. I wipe runny noses and put band-aids on scraped knees. I buy groceries and load the dishwasher.
And as bombs fall on Lebanon and Israel, and suicide bombers blow up children in Iraq, I pick up dirty laundry and carrying it down our stairs. As drought chokes African villages, I fill up my sink. As children go to bed motherless, I scrub the stains from my son’s clothes. As fathers die fighting our wars, I load the washing machine with my husband’s work clothes. As illness rips apart families, I fold our laundry. And as people go homeless, I stuff each item of clothing into our overflowing drawers and dressers.
And I realize how rich I really am and I am thankful. I feel guilty for the decadence of normal and the sweet indulgence of doing laundry.
How many women would long for my life… For the clothes that get dirty. For the water and soap to wash them. For the closets and drawers that keep them. And for the family that wears them.
Yes, there is joy in laundry.
 Hosted this week by Of The Princess and The Pea |
Wendy says
Well said. Great reminder. Thanks.
Catch says
What a great post and a wonderful way to look at life!!! God bless you!
Neighbor Jane Payne says
I love this post. Well put. Well put.
VICTORIA says
I REALLY ENJOYED THIS.YES I HAVE APPRECIATED THIS IN THIS LIGHT BEFORE(DUE TO MY HOUSE BURNING TO GROUND AT 14 YRS. & LEARNING TO REALLY APPRECIATE EVERYTHING.BUT LIFE GOES ON & YOU FORGET SOME TIMES… THANKS I NEEDED THIS TODAY….
Shiloah Baker- Mom to six says
Laundry is definitely a fact of life and something to be thankful for! We have clothes and many times an overabundance of them!
One of my favorite “laundry” quotes is: Behind every successful woman…is a basket of dirty laundry.”
–Sally Poe
Cindy says
Now that I’m doing my father-in-law’s laundry as well as ours I do about three loads a day. My husband gets ill because I’m folding every night on the bed when he’s ready to go to sleep. I say, “Honey, this is my routine. Wash in the morning, dry in the afternoon, fold at night.” Whenever he helps he says, “Why do we have so many clothes?” We are truly blessed. And if you don’t think so, let your dryer or washer quit on you. LOL>
Heidi says
So beautiful! I agree some days it’s hard but it could be SO much worse. I love finding peace and joy in the little and seemingly mundane chores…one reason I love that I’m able to stay home and do them all for my family!
baggage says
I loved that. Thanks.
Mary says
Well put, you said it all. I think that we SAHM moms forget all of that sometimes. You said everything I have been thinking for the last fews months, wondering whether going back to school and missing out on so much is worth the risk of having a job I hate. Just for more money? It’s not ambition I lack, but love for my kids and family that I have so much of. 😀
TC says
You describe perfectly what I feel about my life right now.
Susanne says
There is blessing in laundry and thanks for showing us that! Wonderful post!
Diana says
I love it! So very true! Thanks for submitting to the Carnival of Family Life 15!
Jenny says
Wow. That was so…perfect.
Suddenly I feel like I should go seperate my whites from the darks and thank God while I’m doing it.
Thanks for the perspective.
dawn says
This is beautiful. I loved being a stay-at-home mom and didn’t go back to work full-time until the kids were in high school – and probably shouldn’t have gone back then, in retrospect. Enjoy every minute!
Heather says
Although My life is not “normal”- I do cling to the normalcy we do have with every ounce of my being- Laundry and all!
Thanks for sharing!
-H
Pass the Torch says
That’s a beautiful post.
Well put.
great day says
That was beautiful. We all need to be reminded of how truly blessed we are. Thanks for helping me “stop and smell the blessings”
Have a great rest of your day. Thanks for stopping by my place earlier!
Sandra says
LOVED your post 🙂 What a great reminder to be thankful for what we have in our lives 🙂
Gina says
Beautiful post and a great reminder to find joy in this season of our lives.
Adventures In Babywearing says
I should be so grateful today as I crawl out from under the piles of laundry here… I have no desire to do any other task than take care of my family!!
Ruth says
beautiful!!!! i was wondering similar thoughts as i folded YET ANOTHER load of laundry today. and as i FINALLY put it away and glanced at the laundry basket….i noticed….it is NEARLY FULL AGAIN!!! 🙂
ahhh – we are forchunate, blessed, rich. my mama used to tell people (when they would ask her what she did for a living) that she was a “household engineer”.
!!! 🙂 shalom…..
The Pajama Mama says
It amazes me how differently my life is than how I expected it to be. And yet, I wouldn’t have it any other way. Dirty laundry shows my children have clothes on their backs. Dirty dishes show they have food in their belly. The dirt on the floor let’s me know they were outside living in God’s world and having fun. There is joy in many places I never expected. For that I am eternally thankful!
Christina says
This was a very touching post. It really made me think. We are so lucky to have normal. Thanks for writing about this.
EaglesWings says
So true we are so rich and don’t even know it.
Thank God for dirty dishes, they have a tale to tell. While other go hungry, we’re eating very well. With home and health and happiness, we shouldn’t want to fuss. For by this stack of evidence, God’s very good to us.
Field editor Diane Hixon of Niceville, Florida shares this thoughtful prayer. l
Excerpt from Taste of Home magazine.
Bianca says
There is absolutely joy in all the wonderful things about motherhood and familyhood. I truly envy mothers, as there is a very good chance that I will never be one myself. All the manicures and martinis in the world pale in comparison.
flipflopmamma says
Wow. That was a good post. It made me hang my head in shame. I.hate.laundry. I think I should go re-think laundry now. thank you.
Susan says
I too believe in the power of laundry. The joy comes in having the people who make the laundry in your life, the ability to do that laundry, and the joy of having a simple life to do laundry in. I have lots of joy in my house. Thanks for the reminder! You are a joy also!
Karmyn R says
well said! As we trudge through our mundane things, we forget how truly blessed we really are!!
And hey – I dated a musician for 2 years too – it must be some phase all young women must go through before finding the “good” man!
e-Mom says
How very, very true. Kiss the laundry!
I feel the same way about pushing a grocery cart around Costco. I often reflect on how grateful I am to be able to shop for my family in safety, and pay for all of my purchases with cash on the way out. Thanks for your thoughtful post.
Morning Glory says
I never in a million years would have thought of laundry in that way. That’s a powerful reminder of just how good we have it, isn’t it? Great words!
Julie says
What a wonderful reminder to find the beauty and joy in what we have instead of bemoaning what we have to do…
THanks
Julie
Kailani says
When you put it that way . . . I LOVE LAUNDRY!!! I’ll probably think of this post every time I visit the washing machine. Thank you for reminding me how wonderful life is.
Also, thank you for the Carnival shout! You’re the best!
Nikkie says
I never would have thought about laundry like that.
eph2810 says
You know what – you made me see laundry in a different light. More a blessing that a not-liked-chore. Thank you for putting things in perspective for me.
Have a blessing evening.
Barbara says
I agree, the normal life is the most fulfilling.