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Laundry

My gifts and talents are many and varied. I know it is not polite to boast about your own strengths but this one is one to be admired from afar. Although my husband and children would not agree with this, I do have a gift of listening and discerning. To be more specific, I know what's in the dryer. This has come from my years of vast experience doing laundry.

I can tell from the "clunks" and "thuds" what offending object is in the dryer. I can tell if it is a quarter, nickel, dime, or penny. I can predict any combination of the above. I can discern the size of the rock or wood chip. I have even finally figured out that the softer "clump" sound that doesn't seem to be offending could, in fact, be a red crayon. Multiple "clumps" mean that someone shoved a whole handful into his pockets.

I have also figured out a rating system. Small change and rocks is an irritating but harmless sound. Crayons of any color require running to the dryer, throwing open the door, and digging through until all sounds except a zipper can be heard when the dryer is on. We are now the proud owners of a beautiful multi-colored down comforter that used to be an eggshell color at one time.

Yesterday I heard a new sound. There are two schools of thought on dryer sounds; 1) freak out and find out what it is 2) think, "If I haven't heard THAT before, I'm sure it will do no harm." I liked the latter approach. It turns out, I was right.

You may ask, "What is a fork doing in the laundry, anyway?" I have to admit, this did not cross my mind. When doing laundry for four children, you never know what you will find.

I also can't help but wonder if this had something to do with it.


What is the strangest thing you've found while doing laundry?

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