Friday, February 26, 2010

Caught Up (Enough)

I'm finished!!! Well, sort of. As finished as I can get, it seems. The washing machine is humming along with a half load of darks as I type, and there are a few light-colored items left for another day; but basically, I'm done.

I've been reminded, during this week of Focus on the Laundry, that "caught up" is a misnomer when applied to the laundry situation of a family of six. "Caught up" might last all of 30 seconds: until Shav spits up or has a leaky diaper...until Tobin spills yogurt down the front of his shirt...or until some other mess happens to a member of the family. (Incidentally, one of the memorable messes of the day occurred to me this evening when Tobin fell off a kitchen chair and needed picked up and comforted. As I reached out for him, he put his little arms around me and buried his face in my shoulder. The only problem was that he had just been licking up some brownie batter in the typical two-year-old fashion that spreads it from ear to ear and hand to hand. My apple green turtleneck suddenly got a few brown spots.)

It has been good--really good--to make this a priority and crawl out from under the mountain of laundry this week. I've missed blogging, to be sure; but the breather has brought me relief in one area of household duties, and I'm pleased about that. Now my goal is to stay on top of it and not let myself get buried quite so deeply in dirty clothes again.

I couldn't post about Laundry Week without saying a big thank you to my wonderful assistant who folded many, many loads of clothes this week; she was sidelined briefly by bronchitis, but was back to her usual volunteer position today. Thank you, Mother; I couldn't have done it without you!!
Fortunately, she was cheered on by the cutest little spectator one could wish for.
I often hung the Johnny Jump-Up (that our neighbors are letting us borrow) in the doorway between my room and Shav's while she worked; and Shav had fun bouncing around and watching her.
This darling boy brings joy to even a monotonous chore like folding clothes.
Now that this huge project is behind me, it's time to turn my attention to other things. Next up: a wedding, a trip, and...

Who knows what will come along next week?! :)

7 comments:

Bonnie said...

Oh good, I was beginning to fear that maybe the mountain of laundry had toppled over and you were lost! Thats what I get to do today: laundry. I would be much happier about it if I could hang it out on the line....

bekahcubed said...

Glad to see that your week off was productive!

And you're absolutely right that laundry is never done. Same thing with dishes. Even though I have quite a few less to clean than you do, I still find myself contemplating just not cooking so I don't have to do the dishes afterwards!

Lisa said...

YAY for catching up. Your mom is amazing. Would she want to visit me...and help me?? heehee.

Your bedroom is the same color as ours — we love it!;-)

Sally said...

I'm so happy for you! That's a great accomplishment. Either you exaggerate a little bit about the laundry, or you all have more clothes than we do. For Hannah and I especially, if I don't do laundry at least about every 5 days, we run out of clean clothes to wear. Get a few accidents of some kind in there, and I get to the absolutely-must-do-laundry state even faster. I'm so glad your mom can help you out. I think God is taking care of you in a special way.

Unknown said...

Laundry around here isn't too bad -- after all, there are only three of us, and Jumps always puts on a load before he goes to work. That means I HAVE TO hang it out or get it dry that day, or it sits and gets mouldy in the washer!

Margie said...

Congratulations, Davene. I know that was a big chore that was overshadowing everything! I saw a show, once, in which the mother of many kids - like 10 or so - said she had to do four loads of laundry a day. And if she didn't, it was "absolute chaos." I would imagine your responsibilities are like that. No room for "just not today."

LOVE this month's blog look! It's stunning. (And turns my mind toward spring.)

Polly said...

He is SOOOOO cute in that doorway! What a little sweetie pie. You are also taking some gorgeous pictures!