2003-05-01 - 8:10 a.m.

Okay, I'll admit it.

Laundry. I enjoy doing laundry.

The pleasure of taking things that have been used, discarded, forgotten-for-the-moment, spilled on (hi honey!) and SAVE THEM, like i'm their very own personal laundry-savior is a wonderful power-trip to start or end the day with.

The (other) POWERS that the laundry gives me are as follows:

1. I decide HOW LONG stains get worked on/pre-treated; if something doesn't come out, i'm the one that looks up at the clock, then down at my watch, then tells the nurse with the clipboard "I'm calling it". Time of death: 0:8:00 hours.

2. I'm the only one (hi melissa) that KNOWS deep in her heart EXACTLY HOW the towels are most efficiently folded in order to look "Hotel Fresh" when placed on our shelves in the bathroom.

3. It was MY bright idea to put our initials (using a sharpie) on the little tag on all the new VICTORIAS SECRET BRAS, because, believe it or not, both ladies wear the same size (hello that particular cup and size) and, i'm not talking about the pink ones or the grey ones, but BLACK BRAS and WHITE BRAS in the SAME SIZE AND CUP are all gonna look the same, I don't care if you're their mama. And, quite frankly, I want continuity with my undergarments. I want MY black and white bras.(the sharpied-initials on the tag drew heavy criticism from my very patient lady-lover).

4. Sorting. I decide WHICH "mediums" can be thrown in with the "lights" if necessary. That's a big deal. Note: I also decide which "mediums" can go in with the "darks", an even bigger deal.

5. CONTROL of the Hot Water.

That's right. If I do a load of whites, no one in this house is gonna get a HOT SHOWER for at least 20 minutes. That is a heavy burden.

6. Sorting and CORRECT FOLDING of the clean clothes: Nothing spells accomplishment (for me) quite like the feeling I have when ALL our laundry has been folded correctly : underwear/panties: half, then half again, then placed horizontally into the drawers in color-order; socks- matched with their mate, then folded over on top; bra's- half, then half again, then color order again.

Everthing else-- come on, you guessed it: Hangers!! (just keep those colors in order).

I sit here, romaticizing about the laundry, because... well, it's so damn romantic.

Laundry: It just feels right.