I was having a casual conversation with a close friend today about the ins and outs of motherhood and my role as a wife and as we laughed together about those things we hold in common I thought to myself, I bet we are not alone.

Now hopefully you all know by now that I have a family of six (including myself) that I have been blessed to care for.  And I do mean blessed.  But despite my feelings of joy over the duties I am responsible for each and every day there are brief moments in my life when I question the adequacy of my capabilities and I truly wonder if God knew what He was doing when He retained my services for this position.

Laundry is by far my biggest nemesis in the area of housework.  I could never wash another pair of underwear and it would be too soon.  I am always behind,and the mountain of clothing is so high that the air gets thin at the top.  I have tried all kinds of suggestions and “tricks” of the trade to be more efficient and yet I still feel like most times I am a complete failure in this area.  And then I did the math.

What do you mean, you might be asking……Well I decided that I needed to understand the source of my Mt Everest if I was ever going to have the chance of reaching the summit.  I have six people in my family and every one of them wears at least one outfit per day.  Well then I multiplied that number by seven and I came up with 42 outfits per week!  That doesn’t count towels or pajamas or sheets.  Things were adding up fast and I began to realize the gravity of my situation.  No wonder I am always buried.

Interestingly enough, I found a level of peace and less criticism of my performance based on the sheer numbers I have been dealing with all this time.  I have given myself permission to admire my mountain of laundry from afar on the days when I just can’t get to it with the self-assurance that it will be there tomorrow, just as tall (if not taller) and just as ominous as it was the day before.

More importantly I am choosing to view my laundry as a reflection of the productivity of my household.  My children are active, productive, and dive into all that they do with gusto. As a result, they get dirty.  This fact alone brings me joy and contentment.  I have always told my children that they can determine the quality of their day by how much dirt they have on their jeans.  My laundry pile certainly supports that theory.

All in all, when I sum it all up, I realize that laundry is and will always be a part of my life.  And as one song writer recently said, there will always be another mountain.  It’s about the climb.