I slept past my alarm this morning. It strummed the iPhone alarm strum mockingly at me and I hit snooze. And then I hit snooze again. And then I pushed my face deeper into my pillow and yelled, “why? Why? WHY?” and hit snooze again.
It was, in other words, a morning like every other morning.
Except this morning something wonderful happened. Something beautiful! Something miraculous!
This morning, my 7-year-olds woke up and, instead of going downstairs to cram as many cartoons as possible into their wee little heads to mitigate the imminent effect of school, they did the laundry.
I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING YOU.
My 1st graders woke up and DID THE LAUNDRY of their own accord. Like, dirty clothes in the washer, and the right amount of detergent, and the wet clothes in the dryer, and the dryer sheet, and all the right buttons, and everything.
Who has ever even heard of such a thing as children doing laundry?
NO ONE. No one has! You know why? Because it never happens. EVER. It’s beyond unlikely. WAY beyond. It’s impossible. It could have ripped a hole in the space/time continuum! WE ALL COULD HAVE DIED.
Now, sure, it’s all sorted wrong.
And yes, some of the whites are going to come out purple or pink or a lovely light blue.
And yes, something is going to be shrunk that shouldn’t’ve been shrunk.
And yes, I’ll find crayon melted all over someone’s very favorite, irreplaceable shirt.
BUT MY CHILDREN DID THE LAUNDRY.
VOLUNTARILY.
AND YES, I’M YELLING AT YOU.
BECAUSE MY CHILDREN DID THE LAUNDRY. And if ever there was a time to yell, it’s this one!
And, look; even though I’m very Jesusy and very churchy, I do not ever, ever, ever push my faith here because I believe that whole Love My Neighbor Shtick to the tips of my toes, and I especially buy the bit that we’re ALL neighbors, and ALL worthy of deep respect, and ALL on an important journey in this life, and we can ALL learn important things from each other. I adore my friends who are Athiests and Agnostics, Buddhists and Pagans, Jews and Muslims, and Goddess-Something-or-Others. ADORE you.
But, seriously, folks, MY CHILDREN DID THE LAUNDRY, and we did NOT all blow up, and it’s Christmas time, and THIS IS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, friends! JESUS IS ALIVE!
😀
The End
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P.S. This isn’t what I intended to write today. I intended to write a Mea Culpa about this unintentionally deceptive picture I posted on Facebook last night and the ensuing comments in which you expressed your (correct) disappointment. I intended to write my sincere apology and to link to this subsequent picture and the photo comments beneath it, in which I tried to make it up to you, but I think we can all agree that this morning’s miracle needed to take priority over last night’s Facebook missteps. This morning’s undeserved Grace over last night’s Shame. Light after Darkness, always, yes?
Yes.
Nevertheless, I do want to show you this lovely picture of my immaculate bedroom because it is, in its own way, Grace and Light, too. The mess, surprisingly, always is.
Merry (early) Christmas!
And Happy Holidays!
And if you’re hoping for something actually lovely to staunch your bleeding eyes after that pic,
read on for a rad giveaway from Verve Stamps.
xoxo,
B
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Today is Day 4 of 7+ Giveaways!
(Day 3 is still accepting entries: click here.)
I invited the 5 Kids Blog advertisers (see the column to your right) to join me for 7 (or more!) days of giveaways. CHECK BACK for a NEW GIVEAWAY EVERY DAY.
Today, Verve Stamps is giving a Brighter Days clear stamp set with classy flowers, funky arrows and several trendy, uplifting sentiments. These stamps are perfect for using on an encouraging card or note to a friend, or maybe just to create a beautiful little reminder for yourself that even amidst the chaos, brighter days are ahead.
This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to Maira, winner of the Verve Stamps set!
TO ENTER: Leave a comment on this blog post by 11:59pm (Pacific Time) on Thursday, December 19th. One entry per person, please. A winner will be selected using a random number generator and posted on Friday.
This giveaway is open to international participants. International shipping provided by me.
Note: The 5 Kids Blog advertisers provided no additional compensation for these giveaways. Verve Stamps is paying for the cost of the giveaway and U.S. shipping. She paid me for her ad only, and this just seemed like a fun way to work together for your benefit. OK? OK.
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50 responses to “A Christmas Miracle (and Day 4 of 7+ Giveaways)”
[…] not getting what I need, and furious, because I resent the need in the first place. All these other wise mothers on the internet, they have messy houses, and they aren’t about to snap. What’s wrong with […]
Oh my goodness, that IS a miracle. My two are only 4 and 5 so the still want to help with some household chores (except the ones I request of them like “clean up your toys in your room, and the crumbs from the cookies you managed to sneak in there when you know we don’t eat in our rooms” ) but I don’t think they would ever do what your awesome twins did for you 🙂 Merry Christmas, miracles do happen.
My mess beats yours! BAM! Lol, I’d post a picture, but I think my husband would be slightly unappreciative. 😀 Love your blog.
Lol, my mess beats hers too I am sure 🙂 Maybe not the bedroom at the moment, but I’m positive my kitchen does. I have so many dishes (no dishwasher sadly) for the sheer purpose to not have to wash dishes every day. Then when all or almost all the dishes are dirty I consider buying paper ones lol. At that point my S/O steps in , as he can’t handle the mess as long as I can, and either does them or “makes” me do them. Awful, I know.
Do you ever have these little miracles happen and then realize how much more your children can actually do and up your expectations?
Surprisingly, this post goes well with your post today about ruining our kids’ lives. Because I force my kids to do laundry…. I even sometimes make them put it away. 😉
This is so funny! Thanks for the laugh break…Merry Christmas
😀 I want to enter the contest, please!
wow! that is truly a Christmas (or is it Festivus?) miracle!! I can only hope (pray?) that the miracle of kids doing laundry will someday come over my household. in the meantime we have piles of laundry, EVERYWHERE~! thanks so much for the stories that make me smile. i appreciate your humor. Happy Holidays! (and p.s. I {heart} stamps, so thanks for the giveaway, too!)
Hip Hip Horray!!!! Congrats to you for your amazing Christmas Miracle come early! Can I ask what prompted this act of love and generosity? 🙂 Kids can surprise us in the sweetest of ways. Merry Christmas!
You’ve made me laugh out loud for two posts in a row so far today! And that’s saying something since it’s been “one of those days”. Oh, and thanks for the pic of your bedroom. It made me totally feel like I fit into the right group. 🙂 My only thought was, where’s the random toys? I have a box of wooden building blocks in the midst of it all too…
My tween claims he is treated “like a slave” when he is asked to put away clean, folded laundry…..I can’t imagine what comments having to do laundry himself would elicit!!!
I am too possessive of my laundry… but one day maybe my first grader will clean something by himself… maybe! 😉
I can’t even get my 15 year to do laundry. You are blessed 🙂
These would be a great addition to our craft corner, which only exists in my head so far. But creativity takes time so, you know, I’m working on it.
That is totally cool and would be a great addition to our craft center that doesn’t exist yet except in my head.
[…] Today is Day 5 of 7+ Giveaways!(Day 4 is still accepting entries: click […]
those stamps are super adorable… and our apartment is growing dust bunnies. and it’s a studio. no excuse.
7 year olds who do laundry? That is quite the Christmas miracle!!
At first I thought I should start training my 6 year old now… but you’re right; it’s a miracle and it can’t be reproduced.
I don’t even have children and I am thoroughly impressed!
It is a Christmas miracle! Hallelujah for laundry help!
Thanks for the post… it reminded me to start my own laundry :)!