laundry revisited

Thank you all for stopping by and commenting on LOL day! I do love my lurkers and even if you didn't comment, I still love ya!

One of my new friends, goodgirl asked about my tagline "where laundry and lust collide". The wonderful Ceeci thought of that line and it fits me perfect!

Back in 2006, I wrote a post on laundry. The post before was boring and I jokingly said my next post would be about laundry. Low and behold, people wanted to hear about my laundry. I was going to write a funny post about laundry but next thing you know, it turned serious.

So, because you asked and because I don't have anything interesting to write about, I have decided to repost my laundry post.

And, speaking of laundry....I better get mine done....


First posted on October 5th, 2006

I was only joking when I said I would do my next post on laundry. Apparently, you all are fascinated by laundry. Therefore I feel it is my duty and honor to write a post about laundry.

First of all, what is it about dirty laundry? It's obviously dirty. It smells bad. There are stains. Dirty laundry can tell you a lot about a person. First of all, you can usually tell if it's a male or female. You can tell if it's a baby, child or adult. You can probably even tell if it's a teenager. If you dig further, you find out, what kind of perfume they wear, what kind of deodorant they wear, what they had for lunch or dinner.

If you look at my sons laundry, you would find lots of grass stains, every pair of jeans with a holes in the knees, lots of paint and marker stains, and always, always, always, you will find food stains. You will easily be able to tell what he had for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You most certainly will be able to tell that he plays sports. As with most little boys, you will smell that dirty dog smell that he so sweetly smells like after a hard day of play. Mixed in the laundry basket, you will find, army guys, hot wheels, Star Wars figures, and plastic toy guns. This is my son.

My daughters laundry is a whole different story. My daughter chooses to wear thongs. There has been great controversy over whether a good parent would allow their precious teen wear such a sexy piece of clothing. My short thought on that is...I can't stop her. She buys her own underwear, and she would wear them whether I said yes or no. She started wearing them before I even knew she wore them. Her friends would buy them for her. Since I'm pretty positive she isn't sexually active, I am not to concerned about the thongs. So, in her laundry, you would find thongs, you would find the hormonal smell of teen female. You'll find miniskirts and pink striped socks. You would also find secret notes from her friends. Notes about the worst teacher in the school, the cutest boy in P.E. class and (unfortunately) which girl in school is pregnant. Her laundry tells the story of her life. It's chaotic and grown-up, and it's little girly and sweet. It tells the story of a girl child trying to become a woman. This is my daughter.

Bossman has boring laundry. It's smells extremely manly. It has the occasional crumpled dollar bill, or a few stray coins. You might think the man was having an affair because you could easily find scraps of paper with a woman's name and phone number. Lucky for me, I KNOW better. These scraps of paper do give you a glimpse into his "other" life. Names and numbers of people that he talks to and comes in contact when I'm not around. This is my Bossman.

So, what does my laundry say about me? What would a person find out about me if they went through my dirty laundry? Would they notice my tigger tee-shirt with the holes in it that I got when I was pregnant with my son and I still love to sleep in? Would you notice the food stains that I always spill down the front of my shirt? What about the receipts that I always leave in my pockets? If you read those you would know what stuff I buy at the store. Like the tampons and the kitty litter. Would you notice that there is only one bra? Would you notice that I wear jean and tee shirts? Would you smell my favorite perfume, "sweet honesty"? This is me.

Laundry, like life, gets dirty. There are plenty of times when my life smells. Sometimes the smell is yucky, sometimes it's sweet perfume. Life also gets stained. Births and deaths, stain our lives in permanent ways. Ways that won't come out in the wash. Heartbreak and happiness, fade in and out of our lives just like the stains that we get out with a little "spray and wash".

If you took a look at my laundry 6 months or 6 years ago, you would have found something different than today. Laundry, like life, changes over time. Soon my daughter will have grown up laundry. Maybe she'll have the newlywed laundry. The kind with lots of sheets and towels. Maybe she'll have the laundry of a tired new mom with baby spit up on every one of her shoulders. Soon my sons clothes will get bigger. Someday he will have teen boy clothes. Maybe instead of grass stains, I'll find notes from girls. Maybe he'll leave his student id in his pocket. Maybe I'll still find some football sweaty clothes. Maybe instead of the dirty dog smell, I'll smell the hint of cologne. Maybe...

What will the laundry from Bossman and I look like in the future? I don't know. I hope it will have stains from graduation cake, stains from the wine at the wedding toast, and new grandbaby spit up stains. I hope it will still smell like sex and old spice, and sweet honesty. And maybe, if you look closely at the bottom of the basket, you might just find, mixed in with the clothes and socks and underwear...

The backscratcher that I once again hid from Bossman!

11 comments:

  1. Grace, that was so sweet. thanks for reposting it, because I wasn't around when you first wrote it.

    No,I was around as in born, just hadn't discovered blogs.

    And about the last sentence--I have an upcoming post that I wrote just for you backscratcher owners.

    Hugs,
    Hermione

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  2. That is one of the best posts I have ever read Grace. I'm very glad that you reposted it. Made me really smile and brought back good memories. thank you!

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  3. I never gave that much thought to laundry. Well, apart from thinking I really need to put it away more than once a month. Hey, I have two teens and a 2 year old. As long as it's clean, I'm happy.

    Anyway, that was very thought provoking. Thanks for reposting it, Grace. :)

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  4. Grace, I loved that post when it was first posted and I still love it.
    Things have changed, the Wild Child is driving and the Little man is growing.
    Thanks dear girl.
    Love and warm hugs,
    Paul.

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  5. I had alwasys liked your writing but this was the one that made me realize that you were a writer. It's fantastic! I am still not going to do the laundry but the post was great!

    Hugs,
    PK

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  6. Great post/thanks for reposting it

    Jean

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  7. Grace,
    Nice post. And thanks for the warning about back scratchers. I'm careful not to buy one!
    Maryann

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  8. thanks for reposting this :-) terps

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  9. Yep, this was the post that inspired the tagline. I'm so glad you decided to take it out of the laundry hamper and share it again. I agree with PK, this was the post that made me realize what a very good writer you are... and you were right... the BS needs to be in the bottom of the basket, never to see the light of day again. Ever!

    *hugs*
    CeeCi

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  10. Herminone, I'm sure you were around, just not blogging. Can't wait to read the BS post. I'm planning a BS burning party!

    Thanks Greenwoman! Just reading it brought back memories. Is it sad that I still have the tigger shirt?

    K, I'm with you, I have tons to put away and it seems like as soon as it's finished, there's more to do....

    Paul, not only is the wildchild driving, she's graduated and 18! YIKES, when did that happen?

    PK, I couldn't possibly think that YOU would do laundry! But thanks for the compliment! Maybe while getting spanked for NOT doing laundry, you'll think of me?

    Jean, THANK YOU!

    Maryann, The problem is, nobody seems to listen to me. They all go out and get one anyway. Maybe they think I exaggerate. ME? I'm telling the TRUTH about the BS! Steer clear...those things are HORRIBLE!

    Terps! You are very welcome! How've you been?

    Ceeci, so you agree that a bonfire is a good idea? I think with enough BS we could have a HUGE one! Thanks for the tagline! I LOVE it! Makes me smile every time I come here!

    HUGS!
    grace

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  11. I am late sweetie but I agree with the other. You are a true writer and a wonderful mother. Both shine through in this post!

    Love,
    Cassie

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