Summer's over, kids.
It's all about to get more complicated. The days will get shorter and cooler. The work will get harder. And, in my house at least, the dying light will expose the grunge and grit that's accumulated stealthily during those long, bright summer days.
The chickens, they returneth home. It's clear they mean to stay a while. And roost.
It was obvious to me that summer was gone the other day, doing my laundry. I opened the dryer and began to understand anew the meaning of disaster.
Has anyone else discovered, much too late, the havoc a few broken crayons left in a little pocket can wreak?
Oh, the heartlessness of primary colors. Green, red, and yellow splotches will look good on the trees in the coming days. They will not look fantastic on a pair of linen pants. Or a crisp button-up shirt. Or any of the half-dozen homemade kid-clothes that happened to be in the dryer that day.
I was behind on the wash, you see.
Who takes the time to turn out their children's pockets when it's 75 degrees outside and doesn't get dark until ten?
Summer days, drifting away! But ah-ah those summer nights!
So, yes. Ruined. Despite being laundered four times. Despite each stain being ministered to with the devotion of a Pentacostal preacher.
blot blot blot blot blot
rinse
spray
wait
blot blot blot blot blot
Which is saying something. The clothes have been so . . . transgressed against. They practically look tie-dyed.
Come to think of it, virtually everything the boys are wearing in these photos was in that load of laundry.
How can I not see this as a metaphor?
Apparently, I am going to have to be even more careful to avert calamity. But I'm not a perfect person. I will sometimes eff up. Sometimes, I will open the dryer door and find that my clothes have literally turned into trash. Sometimes, the crisis will occur regardless of what I do. It's humbling.
The darkness is coming. There is work to do. There are cupboards to fill. There are debts to pay. And yes, there are a sh**t-ton of small pockets to inspect. But there is a bright side.
Sigh.
Looking over these pictures, at least I've got a handle on what it's all for.
