the laundry monster

I love laundry.  Except replace the word love with totally hate and despise.  I know hate is a strong word.  I still hate it.

The steps I will take to avoid doing laundry are quite ridiculous.  I will busy myself with all sorts of things just to put off my least favorite household chore.  For example, today I decided it was incredibly important that I wipe down all the kitchen cabinets.  I told myself that I would start a load after that was done.  Well, then I felt tired and decided I needed a break.  And after the break I really needed to spend some time with the kids.  I mean, the laundry isn’t as important as my children, right?  After that…well, by that time I had forgotten completely about my plan to get laundry done today.

We are always telling our kids that you can make any job fun…or at least tolerable…it’s just about attitude.  So I said this same thing to myself today as I was dreading the Mt. Everest size laundry pile that was waiting for me.  (I swear it looked like it had a face and was staring at me with nasty raised eyebrows…taunting me….reminding me that I would never conquer it completely.  Even if I vanquished it today, it would rise again…oh yes, it would have it’s revenge!)  I thought to myself, “self, how in the world are you going to get this laundry done with your stinky attitude,”  and then I stopped and realized that talking to myself was strange (another lesson I am always teaching my children) .  But, in all seriousness, I knew I needed to figure out a new way of looking at this job.  I needed more motivation than the basket being empty at the end of the day.

What I had to remind myself of is that this job of laundry really isn’t just about taking care of clothes…or our home even.  It’s really about taking care of my family–those people I love the very most in this world.  I’m meeting my family’s needs in a practical way.  It’s the same with other household chores too.

Making meals that taste good and give my family the nutrition they need.

Scrubbing the bathrooms so my family stays healthy.

Vacuuming and washing floors so we can walk barefoot in our home and the boys can wrestle on the floor and so I don’t freak when Avary eats the goldfish she dropped.

And in all honesty, I’m taking care of myself too, because life is better and my mind is clearer when the dishes are clean and the folded laundry is put away.  So ultimately, my motivation for doing laundry today was a simple reminder: this is about taking care of my family.  It’s about more than just the stuff.  It’s about my favorite people in the whole wide world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Do you see the eyes? I told you so!)