A few years ago, Lillian and her sister and her niece took a long trip to England, about three weeks, I think. About two weeks in, I was folding laundry one morning, and when I was done, I looked down and noticed the laundry was all mine. Not a single thing of hers.
A wave of loneliness swept over me. I sat down to catch my breath and collect my thoughts. And then I grabbed my phone and sent her a text.
“I miss you so much. I’ve been folding laundry and it’s all MINE. If you’ll come home, I’ll fold YOUR laundry for the rest of my life.”
Well, she came home, and she didn’t forget, and neither did I. I’m still pretty much in charge of that around here.
This morning, I was folding Monday morning laundry, and after I had put away her clothes, and the towels and the sheets and the napkins, and the “hang-up” clothes, I looked down at the bed, and saw this amazing symmetry. T-shirts, socks, underwear and handkerchiefs. Three of each.
I guess that makes sense. Three days of laundry. Three of everything. But I loved the symmetry. I’ve always loved symmetry. (Lillian doesn’t like it — she’s pretty asymmetrical, with a much more adventuresome spirit than me.)
I sat down and took a break, drank another cup of coffee, leaned back, closed my eyes and remembered that day in the late summer a few years ago. And I finally got up and put my stuff away in the drawers where they belong.
But I’m a little nervous. I’m afraid I’m going to be checking every laundry load from now on, just to see. . . I guess that’s OK, as long as hers is there, too. Maybe I’ll be counting her socks and unmentionables. But I won’t tell her.
One thought on “JIM FUGLIE: View From The Prairie — Monday Morning Musings”
DINA SCHOENTHAL BUTCHER February 3, 2025 at 5:18 pm
You coulda’ used that as a valentine!
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