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)”
You sre so right- light after darkness. Also, it is the ‘shadow that proves the sunshine.’ :o)
I think it’s great that your babies did the laundry – and yes, it’s a Christmas miracle for sure. And for the things that come out purple, my friend Michelle says the Shout Color Catcher works wonders. Apparently, it evens works after the clothes have been washed and dried (although I can’t vouch for this as I’ve never tried it).
Maira! You won! An email is coming your way with details.
I guess I forgot to tell you that Laundryman Cai showed me exactly how both the machines are operated, while you were out of town. Greg called to say the clothes in the washer needed to be dried so they’d have dry swimsuits for swim lessons (!) So I enlisted Cai’s help for dryer settings and after it was going he took time to show me how to run the washer, too, pointing out the detergent, measuring cup, and the correct receptacle for it, and the start button. I didn’t feel any need to try it out, however. 🙂
Your room looks like mine! And wow! I’m always floored when my kids do helpful things
I showed my husband your bedroom pic and said “See her bedroom looks like ours…” Thank you for being real!! Good Job Woolsey boys!!!Way to make mama proud!
Your kids are adorable and far too accomplished for their age.
You make me hopeful that someday soon the other people that live in my house will begin to throw things in the garbage (mine you, I am not great at it either, but I do give myself a pass since I am the one that does eventually go around picking up everything). I really want to put together a Garbage Pail 101 ‘What is garbage and why the pail wants it’ class for pre-teens and above.
A Christmas miracle! Come one Jesus, work your magic around my house!
Seriously, thank you for showing me what your house looks like. It makes me feel so much better about my own. i kid you not, after we had a salesperson come into our house we had child services called on us. Because of pur ‘dead’ animals. Who were very much alive, just lazy. There’s a story for you.
And thank you for international shipping from an Aussie mum!
That is hilarious!
Oh Beth, it truly is a Christmas miracle 🙂 Your boys probably do laundry better than my husband so it will ALL be good. It is ALWAYS good if somebody else does it. Now if only they would fold it and put it away!
Wow!! They can come do laundry at my house any day! No matter if they sort it or not. Clean clothes is clean clothes!! Xoxox
Oh Thank God it’s not just my bedroom… and the kids’… and the kitchen…. and the living room… 🙂
But seriously, I move clothes to create a pathway for me to walk to the bed every night. And in the middle of the night, the dog moves all the clothes into the walkway I’ve created and lays down on top of them. It is a never-ending cycle.
I’m hoping my 1st grader and my 3 year old help with the laundry mountain over Christmas Break… that would be a miracle… Maybe I’ll read them your post and say “well, Beth’s boys do it…” 🙂
SO much love here. Love your boys for creating a Christmas Miracle… Love your honesty in sharing your messy bedroom… Love those pretty stamps. =)
Yay for clean laundry and an absence of holes in the space-time continuum!! But shhh, don’t spread the rumor that children don’t do laundry! I’ve managed to convince my 16 month old that putting his laundry in the hamper is an awesome game, and that folding laundry is extra special “Mommy and Me” time!
Oh what sweet children! Mine are 1 and 3…..counting the years till they can do housework.
Wowza. All I can say is wowza. And your bedroom could be mine. No, it really could. Seven people’s “Stuff” somehow ends up in there and sleeps with us. Argh.
A Christmas miracle, indeed!! And I just visited my grandma who told me how she just feels unsettled if she leaves dishes in the sink or doesn’t pick up before going to bed. I was feeling shamed by my house, so thanks for that picture. It’s nice to know I’m not alone.
Thank you for the bedroom picture! It looks so much like mine! When it’s time for the rest of the house to be clean, somehow all the stuff that doesn’t belong in the rest of the house winds up in my bedroom. You rock! Thanks for being so real! And, kids doing laundry?!? How is that possible?? Love your blog!
WAIT – kids don’t do laundry?! How come no one told me that when I was a kid??!! I did laundry all the time!! And sorted and folded and checked pockets and everything! I feel cheated now. 🙂
Yay for laundry elves! Yay for messy homes spilling over with love and laughter (and yelling and sometimes crying too)!! As always, thanks for keepin it real!
Oh my, it’s not just my bedroom then. Seriously awesome 🙂
Oh my goodness! My children help with laundry but I do all the detergent, etc. It is a great day when I find they have switched out the piles on their own! Yesterday I went in and found the wet clothes dry and my husband said he did not do it! I would love to win this!
The light DOES come after the darkness, and shines the strongest when surrounded on all sides by the dark.
And I have to say the stamps are lovely! Whether I win or not, I’m checking out more verve stamps. They’re great!
Omigosh, you’re right! That could have spelled doom for us all! DOOM, I TELLS YA! I have to badger my 11 and 8 year olds to drag their filthy, crusty clothes to the laundry room, and even more badgering has to occur before said things are washed, dried, and put away. Kiss those little miracle workers!
thanks for being so real about the state of your house…makes me feel normal!
I love that you never push your Jesusy-ness here. Because I’m not Jesusy at all, but I still think you’re great and I’ve never felt uncomfortable here. Which cannot be said of a lot of other blogs that I might otherwise like if they were not all up in my face with the Jesus. So thanks 🙂