Where have all the towels gone...

Yes, this is meant to be sung to the tune "Where Have All the Flowers Gone"? If you haven't yet heard this fantastic ditty from 1961, please view the youtube video.

This morning, after my shower, I dried myself with an infant towel. You know the ones - the small square pieces of fabric meant for a newborn that have a hood attached to them. This one was white with yellow duckies. I have to admit that I was only somewhat dry after the experience.

When I checked early yesterday morning, all the towels were neatly tucked away in the linen closet for use. By the end of the day, all of the towels in the house had been used. Yes, all of them. Everyone bathed yesterday, which is an unusual occurrence in our house. While I am not sure how young girls feel about bathing since my 14 month old has no choice in the matter, young boys, tweens, and teenage boys all seem to have an aversion to bathing, wearing deodorant, brushing their teeth and their hair - just grooming in general. I have been known to give out money in return for washing. There is one exception - shaving. They all like to shave, as many times a day as it takes to get rid of that small sprig of peach fuzz flowering beneath their nasal passages. Draigh continually asks me to check his "stash" for new growth.

You also have to bear in mind that we did house chores yesterday and while house chores don't normally require towel use, Taliesin, whose job it is to mop the floors has given up on the idea of wringing the mop. He finds that wringing the mop is a waste of time and prefers saturating the floor with soapy water as a method. He then uses 4 bath towels to dry the floors afterwards.

My good friend, Alan, who comes over quite regularly asked me once "why aren't there ever any towels in the bathroom (you know to dry your hands off when you are done washing them)? My response, "well, I can't seem to keep the in the bathroom." I continue putting them in the bathroom all day long but....I am sure you see the problem. This problem is worse in the summer. We live one block from the Fox River and only a few miles from the pool.

Oh, and then there are the projects that involve towels like washing the car or using the towel as an umbrella during a rainstorm. Sometimes I find towels in the family room covering the stain of juice or diet soda that one of the kids was trying to wipe up (hey, at least they tried). I even find towels in the middle of my driveway or in the yard - huh? What are these kids up to now?

Every time my sister calls which is almost every day, she asks me what I am doing. She has come to expect my response, "doing laundry." It doesn't matter if she calls me in the morning, afternoon, or evening, the response is always, "doing laundry." I think I am up to at least 14 loads of laundry a week - about 2 loads per day sounds accurate.

So for all of my friends and family members who don't hear from me regularly on Facebook and wonder what it is I am doing with my life these days, the response will always be the same, "doing laundry."