Double Folds

The mountain of freshly washed clothes are strewn on my bedroom floor.  Pant legs twist around their pairs, while socks and shirts cling to one another. 

I sigh deeply and begin the long task in front of me, always thankful for the times that I can do this chore while zoning out in front of the television.  Not so grateful that my son is now a toddler and his life's mission is to make me refold the same shirt 8 times.

Like always I make four distinct piles: one for me, one for The Chef, then one for The Girl and finally, The Boy.


I fold shirts and tuck socks until my wrists and arms are sore, all the while sorting the piles and catching up on the latest episode of MasterChef.


I take each pile to its respective room and put the clothes in the appropriate drawers.


The Girl's things are last.  Mostly shirts, dresses and shorts.  But at the bottom of the pile, when all the rest is put away, I find a lone pair of jeans.


I stop and stare at these little pants and for some reason my eyes well.  They're double folded.  I hadn't realized when I was folding them, but there they sit with two folds instead of one.


I always double fold my and The Chef's pants.  It keeps them shorter and helps them fit in the pile neater.  But the kid's pants?  They're already short and small and fit nicely in their piles just folded in half.


Apparently, this is not the case anymore.  I did it on auto pilot but now there they sit, staring at me, reminding me that she's not a baby or toddler anymore.   She's a big girl.  With tall, lean, big girl legs - that only fit in long, double folded big girl pants.


I blink back the dampness in my eyes and scold myself for being so silly.  Laundry?  I'm getting all emotional about laundry?  What is wrong with me?


I pause a moment, wondering if I've missed other things while on auto pilot.  This laundry episode has shown me yet again how life can jump.  I've watched her grow up for four years, spending nearly every day with her, but all of the sudden these double folded pants make me realize how big she is.  I shake the jeans out of their fold and hold them up against my body.  Before I know it, she'll be borrowing my clothes.


How has it gone by so fast?


I fold them in half, then over and over again.  Double folded.  I slip them into the drawer, where they fit perfectly.