“It is good to have a journey to end towards, but in the end, it is the journey that matters.”
-Ursula K. LeGuin

As I type, our laundry pile is growing. Even with no one near it, it freakin’ seems to palpitate on its own, growing magically larger with each second that passes. This morning I swear a pair of my own jeans stood up, tapped my shoulder, and whispered in my ear some threat about strangling me where I lay if I didn’t put them in the washing machine right this instant. Maybe that part was a premonition dream, but the bottom line is, the jeans are currently tossing about in a lovely froth of soap and hot water. I didn’t want to take any chances.

The thing about laundry is this: I really can’t stand it. But in the same breath I will admit to you that it is one of my favorite things because I learn so much from it every day. What it represents to me is the cyclical journey we all walk throughout our lives. It’s a guarantee that the minute I slide onto the couch in a heap of blissfully smug satisfaction for having created perfectly folded piles of clean clothing, my husband comes and tosses a crusty t-shirt into the sparkling fresh empty bin.

As much as I would love to rewind and freeze-frame the moment where all is perfect and clean, I understand that, as with beauty and youth, we admire it all the more because we know how fleeting it is. The value lies in its elusiveness. In summation: clean laundry piles take up rather short, but gloriously precious periods in life. So we might as well find the beauty in the journey of getting there and coming back again in order to make it all worth it.

So whether you’re working toward the goal of getting a degree, improving athleticism, eating healthier, getting a promotion, cleaning your house, or just cleaning your face, enjoy the beautiful meandering journey, because the moment of achievement is so much shorter.

QUESTION: Does anyone else feel this deeply about their dirty clothes or is it just me?