Pink Blankets and Lessons Learned

Sometimes things just do not go quite like you think they are going to when you start out. This morning I decided I would wash the bedding that I took home from my in-laws home. At present we are sorting through household items, as they are in the process of down-sizing.

My husband was gone for the day; so I thought it would be a good time to keep the wash machine running. The first items I put in, were two vellux blankets. I am not even sure they still make these type of blankets, but they were really soft and quite pretty.

I did read the tag to make sure I laundered them correctly. The tag told me to wash in warm water and tumble dry on low. (I am, if nothing else, a direction reader.) The tag also reminded a person that they needed to be washed a minimum of twice a year!

I put those blankets in the machine and got it started. I then proceeded to start housecleaning in my kitchen cupboards while the machine did its’ thing. Later I could hear the wash machine had made it through all the cycles and it was time to transfer them over to the dryer.

Imagine my surprise when I lifted that washer lid…..it looked like a giant rodent had been set loose in the machine with those blankets. Instead of blankets, I had a washer full of pink fluff that faintly strongly resembled that blow-in attic insulation…..only pink.

After a moment of stunned, brain-numbing disbelief, I started to laugh. I am not really sure why; but there was really nothing else to do! Mumbling to myself, I went in search of a garbage bag and headed back to the laundry room.

You would not believe how long it takes to scoop out two blankets worth of fluff from a washing machine. You would also not believe how that pink fluff tends to spread into every part of your home.

I did have to take a photo of the fluff and send it to my sister-in-law with the rather vague caption, “Vellux blankets do not age well when not used.” She called to tell me she was laughing so hard she about cried when she saw the photo of that bag of fluff.

I did learn a lesson from the bag of fluff….maybe not such a profound lesson…but a lesson none-the-less. I learned that we should use our good stuff because it might not age well and we may as well enjoy it while we can.

It also made me think that, perhaps, we should not wait till the time is “just right” to do the things we have on our bucket list. By the time it is “just right” life could have shredded!

I learned that sometimes life does not go as planned. Sometimes, it starts out looking marvelous, goes through a “wet” patch, and falls apart. I also learned it does no good to fret about it…it is much better for the attitude to find the funny side (if possible) and look for the silver lining (there usually is one, though it might be buried pretty deep).

Fortunately, a shredded blanket is not the end of the world. Sometimes it can be a great reminder to treasure the things we have, treasure the people we know and to not put items and people on a shelf to be enjoyed later.

It is a reminder to live the life we have now. We cannot go back and change things that have happened…..I cannot go back and turn that fluff back into a beautiful pink blanket….but I can find the “funny” in it….I can believe that life is good and trust that God’s got it….whatever “it” is.

 

Accept what is,
let go of what was,
have faith in what will be
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