Turnaround Mom
THE TURNAROUND: Blessed be the low-phosphate Tide that binds. (1996)
( NOTE: This was the first essay I ever wrote on parenting. It appeared in our church newsletter and the response was so positive I felt encouraged to take seriously the idea of writing The TurnAround Mom )
It is a little after midnight. I am sorting my way through a three-foot-high pile of laundry on my bed. I am in that dog-tired-mother-fog, when I have a sudden epiphany. I see what is holy in doing laundry.
In folding those little clothes. Feeling the soft cotton that will guard the precious skin on their wondrous little bodies. Seeing the hand-me-downs go from one to the other and loving that memory brought to life by the fish or the lion or the turtle or the tiger printed, painted, or woven on or into the fabric of the shirt I am touching, just as memories weave together to protect our souls, our minds, our hearts. And give a design-a pattern-to our lives.
For so long I have thought myself above doing laundry. I tell myself I have better things to do. It is not the highest and best use of my valuable time and talents. HRRUMPH.
But now I see how I have shortchanged myself for not being fully present in this process. How I have missed--or almost missed-a simple pleasure. The simple pleasure of giving them a blank slate-a clean shirt-on which to keep a diary of their days, written in mustard and blackberry jam and Bosco. I find joy in these stains. They tell stories I am not always around to hear.
Not meaning to romanticize material things mind you, but I suddenly see how in tending to that which touches and protects my loved ones, even the humblest catsup-stained T-shirt, I care for my loved ones.
This is a functional thing to do. It is honest, and it is honorable. And I am grateful--so grateful-for the opportunity to do it. To have these soon-to-be-outgrown jeans to patch for the little sister. She is Grace. This is grace.
Of course, keeping my children in clean clothes is a small part of the big picture. The big picture that I pray they will step away from years from now and say, "She might not have always remembered every party, every practice, every PTA meeting but she sure loved us. She asked us how we were feeling, she cared enough to make consequences stick, and she helped us live our dreams."
And so, as they sleep and I fold, sort, cleanse, and mend, I thank God for one more small way to stay in touch with them. Something I haven't always done very well in the past, sometimes haven't done at all. And now I'm doing it.
Enough. It's time to put the final rinse on this rambling about the holiness of laundry and say, "This is the laundry day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."
Blessed be the low-phosphate Tide that binds!
Carey Sipp: Mother, Writer, Speaker
Carey Sipp is a single mother with two children. For many years Ms. Sipp was an award-winning advertising creative director, primarily working on fundraising materials for nonprofit organizations such as children's hospitals, children's causes, the arts and educational institutions.
A writer, speaker and inventor, Ms. Sipp has written all of her life to "stay out of trouble and to teach myself things I need to know." She is known for her honesty, sense of humor, and her ability to touch the hearts and minds of her audience.
Author of The TurnAround Mom ©2001
Visit Carey Sipp on the web at www.turnaroundmom.com
( NOTE: This was the first essay I ever wrote on parenting. It appeared in our church newsletter and the response was so positive I felt encouraged to take seriously the idea of writing The TurnAround Mom )
It is a little after midnight. I am sorting my way through a three-foot-high pile of laundry on my bed. I am in that dog-tired-mother-fog, when I have a sudden epiphany. I see what is holy in doing laundry.
In folding those little clothes. Feeling the soft cotton that will guard the precious skin on their wondrous little bodies. Seeing the hand-me-downs go from one to the other and loving that memory brought to life by the fish or the lion or the turtle or the tiger printed, painted, or woven on or into the fabric of the shirt I am touching, just as memories weave together to protect our souls, our minds, our hearts. And give a design-a pattern-to our lives.
For so long I have thought myself above doing laundry. I tell myself I have better things to do. It is not the highest and best use of my valuable time and talents. HRRUMPH.
But now I see how I have shortchanged myself for not being fully present in this process. How I have missed--or almost missed-a simple pleasure. The simple pleasure of giving them a blank slate-a clean shirt-on which to keep a diary of their days, written in mustard and blackberry jam and Bosco. I find joy in these stains. They tell stories I am not always around to hear.
Not meaning to romanticize material things mind you, but I suddenly see how in tending to that which touches and protects my loved ones, even the humblest catsup-stained T-shirt, I care for my loved ones.
This is a functional thing to do. It is honest, and it is honorable. And I am grateful--so grateful-for the opportunity to do it. To have these soon-to-be-outgrown jeans to patch for the little sister. She is Grace. This is grace.
Of course, keeping my children in clean clothes is a small part of the big picture. The big picture that I pray they will step away from years from now and say, "She might not have always remembered every party, every practice, every PTA meeting but she sure loved us. She asked us how we were feeling, she cared enough to make consequences stick, and she helped us live our dreams."
And so, as they sleep and I fold, sort, cleanse, and mend, I thank God for one more small way to stay in touch with them. Something I haven't always done very well in the past, sometimes haven't done at all. And now I'm doing it.
Enough. It's time to put the final rinse on this rambling about the holiness of laundry and say, "This is the laundry day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."
Blessed be the low-phosphate Tide that binds!
Carey Sipp: Mother, Writer, Speaker
Carey Sipp is a single mother with two children. For many years Ms. Sipp was an award-winning advertising creative director, primarily working on fundraising materials for nonprofit organizations such as children's hospitals, children's causes, the arts and educational institutions.
A writer, speaker and inventor, Ms. Sipp has written all of her life to "stay out of trouble and to teach myself things I need to know." She is known for her honesty, sense of humor, and her ability to touch the hearts and minds of her audience.
Author of The TurnAround Mom ©2001
Visit Carey Sipp on the web at www.turnaroundmom.com