The Third Pile
I do a lot of laundry. Not as much as some of you, i'm sure (ahem ahem, Patti and Danielle), but I do my fair share, nonetheless.
And I've been thinking for a long time about this topic because it comes to my attention every time I do my laundry. And that topic is, The Third Pile.
Last night around 10:15 pm, I was folding a load upstairs in my laundryroom hallway. I added chonies to Koa's pile and striped leggings to Norah's and then added some sweet elephant jammies to Baby C's pile. With mine and Jason's piles, there was hardly enough room for all the folded laundry to fit on top of the dryer. I remember thinking, "there was much more room for laundry after Miss S left and before Baby C came; there was no Third Pile. And as I stared at the sweet pile of laundry, all the 0-3 month onesies and cozy jammies and little striped pants, I smiled in a bittersweet way.
I don't know how long that Third Pile will be here.
Laundry is such a hassle, but somehow folding that Third Pile of clothes made me grateful. Made me not take folding laundry for granted.
One of the things I hate about foster care is when the child leaves and after all the hard, tearful goodbyes, I still have to look at that childs laundry DAYS after, sometimes even weeks. A random sock that was found under the bed, coming fresh out of the dryer or that onesie that we forgot about because it was packed away in the diaper bag. And even after the child is gone, I still have the remainder of the Third Pile. This time is is being packed away in the attic instead of going into their drawer of clothes. As I pull out that random misplaced blanket, still warm from the dryer, the tears resurface and sometimes I even sit down on the laundry hall floor and cry.
Sometimes as I fold the laundry I let my mind wander to how long that Third Pile will be there or what the next pile will look like. Pink ballerina blankets or navy blue sailboat pants? O-3 months or 6-12 months.
Foster care is a funny thing sometimes with the way your mind works and processes things.
I am really hoping that the current Third Pile sticks around for awhile. Even forever.
And I've been thinking for a long time about this topic because it comes to my attention every time I do my laundry. And that topic is, The Third Pile.
Last night around 10:15 pm, I was folding a load upstairs in my laundry
I don't know how long that Third Pile will be here.
Laundry is such a hassle, but somehow folding that Third Pile of clothes made me grateful. Made me not take folding laundry for granted.
One of the things I hate about foster care is when the child leaves and after all the hard, tearful goodbyes, I still have to look at that childs laundry DAYS after, sometimes even weeks. A random sock that was found under the bed, coming fresh out of the dryer or that onesie that we forgot about because it was packed away in the diaper bag. And even after the child is gone, I still have the remainder of the Third Pile. This time is is being packed away in the attic instead of going into their drawer of clothes. As I pull out that random misplaced blanket, still warm from the dryer, the tears resurface and sometimes I even sit down on the laundry hall floor and cry.
Sometimes as I fold the laundry I let my mind wander to how long that Third Pile will be there or what the next pile will look like. Pink ballerina blankets or navy blue sailboat pants? O-3 months or 6-12 months.
Foster care is a funny thing sometimes with the way your mind works and processes things.
I am really hoping that the current Third Pile sticks around for awhile. Even forever.
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