When I first read this post by Mother Words blogger Jenny Raphael, I told her if she replaced “hoodies” with “tutus” and “sweatpants” with “leggings” this would be my Life in Laundry as well. As always, her musings are spot on.
The blue rhino t-shirt.
The Messi soccer jersey.
The red and blue hoodie.
The Barcelona soccer jersey.
The green and blue hoodie.
The black compression long sleeve shirts.
The Black Keys T-shirt.
The Germany soccer jersey.
Doing my sons’ laundry has become something of a meditation – I fold Ezra’s jerseys and athletic shorts and track pants. I fold Maxon’s graphic tees and jeans and hoodies. I ball up Ezra’s primary-colored basketball and soccer socks, I ball up Maxon’s white ankle socks. By the end, Ezra always has piles twice the size of Maxon’s and I try not to focus on the fact that I folded 12 pairs of pants but only five pairs of underwear.
I look at these clothes and I see my sons – the boy who doesn’t bother to remove his shin guards from inside his socks, the boy who recently outgrew his button-down shirt stage and has moved on to thick hoodies.
I take them shopping twice a year and stay out of their clothing decisions. Before they were old enough to make their own choices, I made some excellent ones for them, involving a lot of Lucky Brand Kids.
I had a good run.
To read this post in its entirety, click here.
Jennifer Raphael is writer of as-yet-unpublished fiction, a freelance marketing writer and a blogging balabusta for the Jewish Exponent. Jennifer started her career in journalism, writing for TV news and a suburban newspaper before joining the staff at Philadelphia Magazine. As a freelancer, she has written articles for Glamour, Mademoiselle, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan and Men’s Health, to name a few. You can see more of her work on her website: www.jenniferraphael.com, and join her intimate band of Twitter followers @jenniferaphael. Her weekly parenting blog, Mother Words, can be found at http://www.jewishexponent.com/mother-words. She describes her parenting style as Method.