The Surprising Thing I Found In My Laundry Pile

Laundry?! Ain’t nobody got time for that!

My sister has five kids and a husband – that is SEVEN people she is constantly doing laundry for.

In my home, it is just my husband, my three year old and I…but often times I feel like I am doing laundry for TWENTY and I just calmly assume that there are people who live here that I just haven’t met yet. 😉

Once upon a time I actually saw the bottom of my laundry basket. I couldn’t believe it! Annnnnd then about 12 seconds later is was full again.

I often times think to myself, “Okay…Washing laundry is a must. Drying is understandable. But putting all of this away is simply taking things a bit too far.”

In our house the dryer is pretty much our family community dresser where you can find all clean clothes at any time. Getting them from the dryer to our individual closets is the BIGGEST struggle in life.

The other day as I scooted through the piles of laundry surrounding my bedroom floor and laundry room – I couldn’t help but get a little frustrated.

As a mom and wife, I felt at that moment a bit overwhelmed.

I felt like I had spent my day entertaining a busy three year old. Teaching her how to write her name and recognize letters and shapes. Loving her and making sure she knows that she can become anything she wants to become. Kissing boo boos to make her ouchies feel better. Cooking meals and making our house a home.

…But the piles of laundry stayed in the exact same place as they had been for the past week.

I was at my wits end and didn’t know how I could do it ALL. The expectations of “being a full time mom” weighed heavy on my shoulders and I sat in the corner wondering HOW in the world other women do it.

How do they teach their kids, make them laugh, cook three meals a day, have perfect pristine clean homes ALL while having no laundry piles surrounding their bedroom floor that they have to jump over in order to get into bed each night?!

I didn’t get it…

But that was when I found it.

I found the most surprising thing in my mile high pile of laundry.

I found three wet swimsuits from our family swim night – full of chlorine and LOTS of laughs. I had squeezed into my swimming suit, despite my comfort in it from my growing belly and body and we PLAYED as a family. And we laughed our heads off.

I found 13 dirty shirts that had spills from mac n cheese and ketchup and snow cones and watermelon and ice cream cones – from all of the yummy Summer food we had eaten this weekend at family parties and picnics.

I found socks…none of which had matches…but I found 7 socks from indoor play places that we had ran through, bridges that we climbed, slides that we went down and memories that were made.

And I also found shorts, pants, underwear, bows, shoes, jewelry, change, crayons and even a rock that my daughter had picked up and given to me as a “surprise present that I would really really love.” And each of those individual things had a special meaning and story as to why they were in my massive mountain of laundry.

But probably the most important thing that I found… was that I am a mom. A normal mom who has a pile of laundry that isn’t going away.

That as the piles of dirty dresses and oversized tee shirts with mismatching socks and tiny shirts and shorts grow and grow – a blessing in disguise is being discovered.

You see, many women {including myself} go YEARS praying, dreaming, hoping {and at time losing hope, but gaining it back somehow} and wishing that they could be a mom.

That they would be able to put on a swimsuit and go swimming with THEIR child.

That they would be able to run around a playground and play tag with a little one that they could call THEIR OWN.

That they would be able to spend a Summer hearing the word, “MOM!” call THEIR name one hundred times.

That they would be able to see a pile of laundry in their bedroom – full of dirty, smelly clothes that weren’t their own… but members of THEIR FAMILY.

And that was when I realized that although being a mom can feel overwhelming with our lists of things to do and people to please… it is THE greatest gift that we have ever been given.

And I wouldn’t trade it for a single thing…

Even for empty laundry baskets.

Danielle is the owner of Today's the Best Day. She strives to provide creative and uplifting content in order to enrich the parenting experience for women everywhere. Danielle hopes to help you and your family to make every day the best day!

July 7, 2016 by Danielle Davis | 1 Comment